Sample records for adult reading habits

  1. The Habit of Reading: A Neglected Dimension of Adult Reading Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fink, Katherine T.; Devine, Thomas G.

    1993-01-01

    Less competent adult readers have not developed the habit of reading. Ways to cultivate adult reading habits include relevant material, environment saturated with reading material, reading aloud to adults, having them read to children, sustained silent reading, modeling, book sharing, author conferences, and recognition. (SK)

  2. Changes in Reading Habits by Low Literate Adults through Extensive Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodrigo, Victoria; Greenberg, Daphne; Segal, Don

    2014-01-01

    This study analyzes the effect of two reading interventions on reading habits by 181 low literate adults who read at the 3-5.9 grade levels. One intervention implemented extensive reading (ER group) and the other one had direct instruction (no-ER group). A Reading Pattern survey was administered at the beginning, at the end, and 6 months after the…

  3. Reading and Television Viewing Habits of American Adults during Time Spent in Waiting Rooms.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spirn, Sharon L.

    In order to determine the reading and television viewing habits of American adults during time spent in waiting rooms, a study observed 100 adults waiting outside the Emergency Treatment Room of John F. Kennedy Hospital in Edison, New Jersey, over a four-week period. Results revealed that more of these adults chose to watch television as an…

  4. The Influence of Reading and Writing Habits Associated with Education on the Neuropsychological Performance of Brazilian Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pawlowski, Josiane; Remor, Eduardo; de Mattos Pimenta Parente, Maria Alice; de Salles, Jerusa Fumagalli; Fonseca, Rochele Paz; Bandeira, Denise Ruschel

    2012-01-01

    This study evaluated the influence of the frequency of reading and writing habits (RWH) associated with education on the performance of adults in brief neuropsychological tasks. A sample of 489 Brazilian subjects, composed of 71% women, aged 21-80 years, with 2-23 years of formal education, was evaluated by the Brazilian Brief Neuropsychological…

  5. The Relation Between Caregivers' Multiliterate Reading Habits and Their Children's Oral Health Status

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Caregivers’ oral health literacy (OHL) assessment results have been found to be related to their children’s oral health status. A further aspect of this relationship may be the role of caregivers’ reading habits. Objective Our goal was to describe the relationship between caregivers’ multimodal (digital and print) and multilingual (English and Chinese) reading habits, their OHL, and their child’s oral health status in Hong Kong. Methods A random sample of 301 child-caregiver dyads was recruited from kindergartens in Hong Kong. Data included sociodemographic information and caregivers’ self-reported digital print and reading habits across two languages (Chinese and English). Caregivers’ OHL levels were assessed by two locally developed and validated oral health literacy assessment tasks: Hong Kong Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-30 (HKREALD-30) and the Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Pediatric Dentistry (HKOHLAT-P). Children’s oral health status was assessed using two measures: dental caries experience (number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth) and oral hygiene status (Visible Plaque Index). Results Bivariate variations revealed significant differences in mean OHL scores between caregivers with different reading habits (P<.01). Correlations revealed significant associations between caregivers’ practices of reading multimodal (print/digital) and multilingual (English/Chinese) texts, their literacy levels, and their children’s oral health status (P<.01). Adjusting for sociodemographics and all other reading habits in the regression analysis, the caregivers' habit of reading digital and print texts was significantly retained in the final model. Regression analysis revealed significant associations between caregivers’ reading habits (digital Chinese) and their OHL word recognition scores: OR 5.00, 95% CI 1.10-3.65, P=.027. Significant associations were also evident for their OHL comprehension scores

  6. Exploring the Relationship between Adolescent's Reading Skills, Reading Motivation and Reading Habits

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGeown, Sarah P.; Duncan, Lynne G.; Griffiths, Yvonne M.; Stothard, Sue E.

    2015-01-01

    The present study examines the extent to which adolescents' reading affect (reading motivation) and behaviour (reading habits) predict different components of reading (word reading, comprehension, summarisation and text reading speed) and also adds to the limited research examining group differences (gender, age, ability) in adolescents' reading…

  7. The Leisure Reading Habits of Urban Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughes-Hassell, Sandra; Rodge, Pradnya

    2007-01-01

    Research indicates that there is a strong relationship between leisure reading and school achievement, but the leisure reading habits of urban adolescents have rarely been studied. From their investigation of the leisure reading habits of 584 urban minority middle school students, the authors identify these key findings: (1) More than two-thirds…

  8. A New Measure of Reading Habit: Going Beyond Behavioral Frequency

    PubMed Central

    Schmidt, Fabian T. C.; Retelsdorf, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Reading habit is considered an important construct in reading research as it serves as a significant predictor of reading achievement. However, there is still no consensus on how to best measure reading habit. In recent research, it has mostly been measured as behavioral frequency; this approach neglects the fact that repeated behavior does not cover the broad content of habitual behavior—such as automaticity and the expression of one’s identity. In this study, we aimed to adapt a 10-item scale on the basis of the Self-Report Habit Index by Verplanken and Orbell (2003) that is comprehensive but still economical for measuring reading habit. It was tested by drawing on a sample of N = 1,418 upper secondary school students. The scale showed good psychometric properties and the internal and external validity was supported. Moreover, the scale predicted reading achievement and decoding speed over and above reading frequency. The implications of an elaborated but still economical way of measuring reading habit are discussed giving new impetus on research on reading habit, challenging conventional approaches of traditional measures. PMID:27660619

  9. The Online Reading Habits of Malaysian Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abidin, Mohammad Jafre Bin Zainol; Pourmohammadi, Majid; Varasingam, Nalini A/P; Lean, Ooi Choon

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to ascertain the differences in online reading habits between genders and investigate the relationship between socio-economic status and online reading habits. Using a questionnaire, a quantitative approach was administered to 240 Form-Four students from four secondary schools in Penang Island, Malaysia. Findings…

  10. A Research on Book Reading Habits of Turkish Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akçay, Ahmet

    2017-01-01

    Reading is the act of understanding and interpreting itself and its surroundings from the moment that human being is present. Therefore, individuals those who would like to know the environment better should have gained the reading habit. Turkish teachers are one of the effective factors in the acquisition of reading habits. It is necessary for…

  11. Uncovering Reading Habits of University Students in Uganda: Does ICT Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mlay, Samali V.; Sabi, Humphrey M.; Tsuma, Clive K.; Langmia, Kehbuma

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can improve reading habits among university students. We also investigated the influence of home culture, school culture and disposable income on reading habit. Our main objective was to assess the effect of ICT on the reading habit of particularly university students in…

  12. The Relationship between Recreational Reading Habits, Knowledge of Contemporary Young Adult Literature and Anticipated Instructional Practices in Secondary Education Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bodensteiner, Lacey

    2016-01-01

    Despite the importance of encouraging the development of recreational reading habits in secondary students, there is considerable evidence that many secondary schools implement instructional practices that negatively shape literary experiences. This study examined the recreational reading habits of secondary education majors, their knowledge of…

  13. Don't Throw out Paper and Pens Yet: On the Reading Habits of Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davidovitch, Nitza; Yavich, Roman; Druckman, Eran

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on students' reading habits--whether traditional reading habits (print books) or modern reading habits (using a computer screen). We review the changes in students' reading habits over time, as part of other global changes, and explore whether corresponding digital pedagogies have evolved to address these changes. We examine…

  14. Does Johnny's Reading Teacher Love to Read? How Teachers' Personal Reading Habits Affect Instructional Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKool, Sharon S.; Gespass, Suzanne

    2009-01-01

    This article investigates the relationship between teachers' personal reading habits and their instructional practices. Teachers responded to a questionnaire that revealed their attitudes toward reading, the amount of time they spent reading per day and the kind of literacy practices that they used in their classrooms. Results indicate: (1) while…

  15. Self-Contained to Departmentalized: How Reading Habits Changed

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lamme, Linda Leonard

    1976-01-01

    Examined the reading habits of four 4th grade classes before and after a changeover from self-contained to departmentalized instruction. Results indicated a slightly lower mean number of books read and far less variation among classes in the number of books read after departmentalization. (JMB)

  16. The Reading Habits of Developmental College Students at Different Levels of Reading Proficiency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sheorey, Ravi; Mokhtari, Kouider

    1994-01-01

    Examines differences in reading habits of developmental college students with varying levels of reading proficiency. Finds that subjects spent an unusually low amount of time on academic reading and even less time on nonacademic reading. Finds no significant differences between high- and low-proficient readers with regard to amount of time spent…

  17. Improving Recreational Reading Habits of Elementary Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krug, Marline; Fordonski, Patricia

    A study investigated the effectiveness of a program for improving the recreational reading habits of elementary students through the use of cross-age tutoring in critical reading strategies. The targeted population consisted of a kindergarten and a fourth-grade class in the growing upper-middle-class community of Geneva, Illinois, located…

  18. Print exposure, reading habits, and reading achievement among deaf and hearing college students.

    PubMed

    Marschark, Marc; Sarchet, Thomastine; Convertino, Carol M; Borgna, Georgianna; Morrison, Carolyn; Remelt, Sarah

    2012-01-01

    This study explored relations of print exposure, academic achievement, and reading habits among 100 deaf and 100 hearing college students. As in earlier studies, recognition tests for book titles and magazine titles were used as measures of print exposure, college entrance test scores were used as measures of academic achievement, and students provided self-reports of reading habits. Deaf students recognized fewer magazine titles and fewer book titles appropriate for reading levels from kindergarten through Grade 12 while reporting more weekly hours of reading. As in previous studies with hearing college students, the title recognition test proved a better predictor of deaf and hearing students' English achievement than how many hours they reported reading. The finding that the recognition tests were relatively more potent predictors of achievement for deaf students than hearing students may reflect the fact that deaf students often obtain less information through incidental learning and classroom presentations.

  19. The Effects of the Sustained Silent Reading Program on Cultivating Students' Habits and Attitudes in Reading Books for Leisure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chua, Siah Poh

    2008-01-01

    The author examines the effects of the sustained silent reading program on cultivating students' habits and attitudes in reading books for leisure. The author used a time-series design and measured students' reading habits and attitudes three times in twelve months. It was expected that if the program created positive effects on cultivating…

  20. Evaluation of Reading Habits of Teacher Candidates: Study of Scale Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erkan, Senem Seda Sahenk; Dagal, Asude Balaban; Tezcan, Özlem

    2016-01-01

    The main purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale for printed and digital competencies ("The Printed and Digital Reading Habits Scale"). The problem statement of this research can be expressed as: "The Printed and Digital Reading Habits Scale: is a valid and reliable scale?" In this study, the scale…

  1. Effect of Book Reading Method upon Attitudes of Students towards Learning and Reading Habit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmet, Kara; Ali, Ünisen; Eyup, Izci

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of lessons trained through large group discussion method in a classroom environment during 10-15 min at the end of silent book reading activity for the first thirty minutes during a term upon attitudes of students towards learning and reading habit. The research was carried out with totally 89…

  2. How directional change in reading/writing habits relates to directional change in displayed pictures.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hachoung; Oh, Songjoo

    2016-01-01

    It has been suggested that reading/writing habits may influence the appreciation of pictures. For example, people who read and write in a rightward direction have an aesthetic preference for pictures that face rightward over pictures that face leftward, and vice versa. However, correlations for this phenomenon have only been found in cross-cultural studies. Will a directional change in reading/writing habits within a culture relate to changes in picture preference? Korea is a good place to research this question because the country underwent gradual changes in reading/writing direction habits, from leftward to rightward, during the 20th century. In this study, we analyzed the direction of drawings and photos published in the two oldest newspapers in Korea from 1920-2013. The results show that the direction of the drawings underwent a clear shift from the left to the right, but the direction of the photos did not change. This finding suggests a close psychological link between the habits of reading/writing and drawing that cannot be accounted for simply by an accidental correspondence across different cultures.

  3. A Survey on the Reading Habits among Colleges of Education Students in the Information Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fatiloro, Oluwayemisi Florence; Adesola, Oyekola Adebimpe; Hameed, Bilkis Alaba; Adewumi, Oseni Muinat

    2017-01-01

    Reading is the gateway to success in education. It is the heartbeat of all courses offered in institutions. It is therefore crucial to investigate Colleges of Education students reading habits and how to improve the skill. The study was a descriptive survey with a validated questionnaire on "Reading Habits among Colleges of Education students…

  4. Dyslexia in adults: Evidence for deficits in non-word reading and in the phonological representation of lexical items.

    PubMed

    Elbro, C; Nielsen, I; Petersen, D K

    1994-01-01

    Difficulties in reading and language skills which persist from childhood into adult life are the concerns of this article. The aims were twofold: (1) to find measures of adult reading processes that validate adults' retrospective reports of difficulties in learning to read during the school years, and (2) to search for indications of basic deficits in phonological processing that may point toward underlying causes of reading difficulties. Adults who reported a history of difficulties in learning to read (n=102) were distinctly disabled in phonological coding in reading, compared to adults without similar histories (n=56). They were less disabled in the comprehension of written passages, and the comprehension disability was explained by the phonological difficulties. A number of indications were found that adults with poor phonological coding skills in reading (i.e., dyslexia) have basic deficits in phonological representations of spoken words, even when semantic word knowledge, phonemic awareness, educational level, and daily reading habits are taken into account. It is suggested that dyslexics possess less distinct phonological representations of spoken words.

  5. [Insomnia and habits to help to fall asleep among adults].

    PubMed

    Fusz, Katalin; Faludi, Béla; Pusztai, Dorina; Sebők, Nóra; Oláh, András

    2016-12-01

    The quality of sleep can be influenced by several factors, insomnia in turn has an effect on the state of health. The aim of our survey is to measure the effects of insomnia, furthermore, the sleep affecting agents and habits to help to fall asleep among adults. We collected the online nationwide and the written datas from the South-Transdanubia region, 455 adults filled the questionnaire which contains the Athens Insomnia Scale. 13.4% of participants has insomnia, it is influenced by the quality of diet (p<0.001), comsumption of coffee (p = 0.045) and the physical activity (p = 0.011), what is more in correlation with the prevalency of chronic deseases (p = 0.001) and psychosomatic symptoms (p<0.001). The most frequent causes of sleep disorders are: work-related stress (35.6%), personal-life stress (35.4%) and pain (24.2%). In case of dormition problems most of the participants watch television (52.1%) and read (33%); 7.5% and 11.4% of the responders use sleeping pills and tisane. We attract attention to the prevalency and effects of insomnia, and the habits to help to fall asleep. Orv. Hetil., 2016, 157(49), 1955-1959.

  6. Returning to Reading: An Online Course in French Offers a Snapshot of L2 Reading Habits and Trends

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gascoigne, Carolyn; Parnell, Juliette

    2016-01-01

    With todays' students spending increasing amounts of time involved in online activities, there is a growing need to study their online reading habits. Indeed, it is not only students' out-of-class engagement with electronic media that calls for increased attention to the reading skill, in general, and online reading, in particular, but it is also…

  7. Print Exposure, Reading Habits, and Reading Achievement among Deaf and Hearing College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marschark, Marc; Sarchet, Thomastine; Convertino, Carol M.; Borgna, Georgianna; Morrison, Carolyn; Remelt, Sarah

    2012-01-01

    This study explored relations of print exposure, academic achievement, and reading habits among 100 deaf and 100 hearing college students. As in earlier studies, recognition tests for book titles and magazine titles were used as measures of print exposure, college entrance test scores were used as measures of academic achievement, and students…

  8. Improving Attitudes and Habits toward Recreational Reading in Second Graders by Thematic Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meleskie-Lippert, Kathleen

    A practicum addressed second graders' negative attitudes and habits toward recreational reading. Students were not reading for pleasure at school or at home. A recreational reading program, which used a variety of thematic units, was implemented. Subjects were 20 second graders (mostly Hispanics) in an inner city school. Several innovative…

  9. Reading Habits of College Students in the United States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, SuHua; Capps, Matthew; Blacklock, Jeff; Garza, Mary

    2014-01-01

    This study employed a convergent mixed-method research design to investigate reading habits of American college students. A total of 1,265 (466 male and 799 female) college students voluntarily participated in the study by completing a self-reported survey. Twelve students participated in semi-structured interviews and classroom observations.…

  10. Catch Them Young: Developing and Improving of School Libraries and Reading Habit of Secondary School Students in Nigeria

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oriogu, Chuks Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Reading habit is a fundamental skill necessary in the life of every student. It is essential in developing a more civilized and knowledgeable society. Therefore, the study investigated reading habit of secondary school students and ways of developing and improving of school libraries in Nigeria. The study reviewed the basis of reading skills,…

  11. Reading Interests and Habits of Connecticut Students in Grades Four through Twelve.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallo, Donald R.

    Drawing from data obtained from a two-page student questionnaire mailed to a number of Connecticut English and reading teachers in all types of schools, this paper reports on the reading interests and habits of students in grades four through twelve. Usable responses were received from 3,339 students from 51 schools in 37 different towns and…

  12. The Modality Effect on Reading Literacy: Perspectives from Students' Online Reading Habits, Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies, and Web Navigation Skills across Regions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Jiun Yu; Peng, Ya-Chun

    2017-01-01

    This study tested the effects of the modality of reading formats (electronic vs. print), online reading habits (engagement in different online reading activities), use of cognitive strategies, metacognitive knowledge, and navigation skills on printed and electronic reading literacy across regions. Participants were 31,784 fifteen-year-old students…

  13. The dynamic effect of reading direction habit on spatial asymmetry of image perception.

    PubMed

    Afsari, Zaeinab; Ossandón, José P; König, Peter

    2016-09-01

    Exploration of images after stimulus onset is initially biased to the left. Here, we studied the causes of such an asymmetry and investigated effects of reading habits, text primes, and priming by systematically biased eye movements on this spatial bias in visual exploration. Bilinguals first read text primes with right-to-left (RTL) or left-to-right (LTR) reading directions and subsequently explored natural images. In Experiment 1, native RTL speakers showed a leftward free-viewing shift after reading LTR primes but a weaker rightward bias after reading RTL primes. This demonstrates that reading direction dynamically influences the spatial bias. However, native LTR speakers who learned an RTL language late in life showed a leftward bias after reading either LTR or RTL primes, which suggests the role of habit formation in the production of the spatial bias. In Experiment 2, LTR bilinguals showed a slightly enhanced leftward bias after reading LTR text primes in their second language. This might contribute to the differences of native RTL and LTR speakers observed in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, LTR bilinguals read normal (LTR, habitual reading) and mirrored left-to-right (mLTR, nonhabitual reading) texts. We observed a strong leftward bias in both cases, indicating that the bias direction is influenced by habitual reading direction and is not secondary to the actual reading direction. This is confirmed in Experiment 4, in which LTR participants were asked to follow RTL and LTR moving dots in prior image presentation and showed no change in the normal spatial bias. In conclusion, the horizontal bias is a dynamic property and is modulated by habitual reading direction.

  14. Strategies to Overcome Negative Reading Habits of ABE Participants: A Case Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stanfel, Jane E.

    1996-01-01

    The author theorizes that her students, single-parent welfare recipients, develop negative reading habits to camouflage low literacy. She describes instructional strategies that fail to help and methods she found effective. (SK)

  15. No Limits--READ! Young Adult Reading Club and Programming Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Youngblood, Lisa

    This manual provides strategies for developing young adult collections, outlines a reading club designed specifically for young adults, suggests promotional ideas for the young adult reading club and young adult programming in general, and provides age-appropriate ideas for both formal and passive programming. Specific topics covered in the…

  16. Middle Schoolers and Magazines: What Teachers Can Learn from Students' Leisure Reading Habits

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gabriel, Rachael; Allington, Richard; Billen, Monica

    2012-01-01

    Teachers, parents, and librarians are constantly looking for methods and materials that engage students as readers and motivate them to increase the time they spend reading. In this article we describe findings from a study of middle schoolers' magazine reading habits that gave us a close look at the power of magazines as supplemental supports for…

  17. Reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults.

    PubMed

    Parault, Susan J; Williams, Heather M

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the variables of reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults. Research has shown that less than 50% of deaf students leave high school reading at or above a fourth-grade level (Allen, 1994). Our question is, how does this affect the levels of reading motivation and amount of reading in which deaf adults engage? Assessments of 30 hearing and 24 deaf adults showed that deaf participants reported significantly higher levels of reading motivation despite having been found to read at less than a sixth-grade level. No significant difference in the amount of reading between hearing and deaf adults was found. Amount of reading for personal reasons was found to be the best predictor of text comprehension in the deaf participants, and intrinsic motivation was found to be the best predictor of amount of reading in the deaf participants.

  18. Reading difficulties in Spanish adults with dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Suárez-Coalla, Paz; Cuetos, Fernando

    2015-04-01

    Recent studies show that dyslexia persists into adulthood, even in highly educated and well-read people. The main characteristic that adults with dyslexia present is a low speed when reading. In Spanish, a shallow orthographic system, no studies about adults with dyslexia are available; and it is possible that the consistency of the orthographic system favours the reading fluency. The aim of this study was to get an insight of the reading characteristics of Spanish adults with dyslexia and also to infer the reading strategies that they are using. For that purpose, a group of 30 dyslexics (M age = 32 years old) and an age-matched group of 30 adults without reading disabilities completed several phonological and reading tasks: phonological awareness tasks, rapid automatic naming, lexical decision, word and pseudoword reading, letter detection and text reading. The results showed that highly educated Spanish dyslexics performed significantly worse than the control group in the majority of the tasks. Specifically, they showed difficulties reading long pseudowords, indicating problems in automating the grapheme-phoneme rules, but they also seem to present difficulties reading words, which indicate problems with the lexical route. It seems that the Spanish dyslexic adults, as in deep orthographies, continue having difficulties in phonological awareness tasks, rapid naming and reading.

  19. Investigation of Critical Thinking Attitudes and Reading Habits of Teacher Candidates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kizilet, Ali

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to define reading habits and critical thinking levels of pre-service teachers, who study at departments of classroom and physical education and sports teaching, and presenting the differences between these. The variables of the research were designed in accordance with descriptive research model. In 2016 to 17 academic year fall…

  20. Measuring adult literacy students' reading skills using the Gray Oral Reading Test.

    PubMed

    Greenberg, Daphne; Pae, Hye Kyeong; Morris, Robin D; Calhoon, Mary Beth; Nanda, Alice O

    2009-12-01

    There are not enough reading tests standardized on adults who have very low literacy skills, and therefore tests standardized on children are frequently administered. This study addressed the complexities and problems of using a test normed on children to measure the reading comprehension skills of 193 adults who read at approximately third through fifth grade reading grade equivalency levels. Findings are reported from an analysis of the administration of Form A of the Gray Oral Reading Tests-Fourth Edition (Wiederholt & Bryant, 2001a, b). Results indicated that educators and researchers should be very cautious when interpreting test results of adults who have difficulty reading when children's norm-referenced tests are administered.

  1. Comparing Swedish and Norwegian Teachers' Professional Development: How Human Capital and Social Capital Factor into Teachers' Reading Habits

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reichenberg, Monica; Andreassen, Rune

    2018-01-01

    The present study compares how Swedish (n = 340) and Norwegian (n = 236) teachers' human capital and social capital support reading habits as an aspect of professional development. The overall aim was to describe how teachers' human and social capital support their professional development as measured by the aspect of reading habits during leisure…

  2. Reading Activities of American Adults.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharon, Amiel T.

    A reading activities survey as part of the Targeted Research and Development Reading Program was done by interviewing 3,504 adults, aged 16 years or older, selected by area probability sampling. Among the preliminary findings was that the most frequent type of reading is newspaper reading. Seven out of 10 people read or look at a newspaper during…

  3. Brief report: Multiprogram evaluation of reading habits of primary care internal medicine residents on ambulatory rotations.

    PubMed

    Lai, Cindy J; Aagaard, Eva; Brandenburg, Suzanne; Nadkarni, Mohan; Wei, Henry G; Baron, Robert

    2006-05-01

    To assess the reading habits and educational resources of primary care internal medicine residents for their ambulatory medicine education. Cross-sectional, multiprogram survey of primary care internal medicine residents. Second- and third-year residents on ambulatory care rotations at 9 primary care medicine programs (124 eligible residents; 71% response rate). Participants were asked open-ended and 5-point Likert-scaled questions about reading habits: time spent reading, preferred resources, and motivating and inhibiting factors. Participants reported reading medical topics for a mean of 4.3+/-3.0 SD hours weekly. Online-only sources were the most frequently utilized medical resource (mean Likert response 4.16+/-0.87). Respondents most commonly cited specific patients' cases (4.38+/-0.65) and preparation for talks (4.08+/-0.89) as motivating factors, and family responsibilities (3.99+/-0.65) and lack of motivation (3.93+/-0.81) as inhibiting factors. To stimulate residents' reading, residency programs should encourage patient- and case-based learning; require teaching assignments; and provide easy access to online curricula.

  4. Facilitating Reading Habits and Creating Peer Culture in Shared Book Reading: An Exploratory Case Study in a Toddler Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Boh Young

    2017-01-01

    Fifteen toddlers (2- to 3-years old, nine boys and six girls) in a university preschool classroom were observed for 7 months while spending time with books during transition time, between story time and lunch. This qualitative case study investigated the ways that teachers can facilitate toddlers' reading habits by providing literacy opportunities…

  5. The Relationship between Reading Proficiency and Reading Strategy Use: A Study of Adult ESL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Jiuhan; Nisbet, Deanna

    2014-01-01

    This article explores the relationship between reading strategy use and reading proficiency among 121 adult ESL learners. Reading strategy use was measured by the SORS, and reading proficiency was determined by the CASAS Reading Test and BEST Literacy Test. Findings of the study reveal that (a) adult ESL learners are active strategies users; (b)…

  6. A Study on Reading Habits of Social Studies and History Teachers in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuba, Sengül Bircan

    2017-01-01

    The development of reading habits in the society is influenced by both the family and school environment. Teachers are the most effective element within the school environment. Social studies teachers at the primary education level and history teachers at the secondary education level can be said to be branch teachers who should have an…

  7. Reading Habits of Secondary School Teachers: A Study of Selected Secondary Schools in Addis Ababa and Dessie

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hassen, Rukya

    2016-01-01

    This study is a small-scale study of an exploration of reading habit of high school teachers. Fifty-four teachers from five schools who teach in different schools in Addis Ababa and Dessie participated in this study. Data were collected through questionnaire and in-depth interview. The result of the study shows that reading is poorly developed…

  8. Let's Read Together: Improving Literacy Outcomes with the Adult-Child Interactive Reading Inventory (ACIRI)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeBruin-Parecki, Andrea

    2007-01-01

    Everyone knows how important it is to read to young children--but it is the "quality" of shared reading that really affects emergent literacy. How well are adults engaging and teaching children as they read together? How well are children listening and responding? The first and only tool to measure the quality of adult and child interactions…

  9. Adults' Engagement in Reading: A Test of Engagement Theory.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, M. Cecil

    A study examined the extent to which adults engage in reading tasks to meet a variety of personal purposes and needs, asking when engaged reading is most likely to occur for types of text sources, reading purposes, reading settings, educational attainment groups, and occupational groups. Subjects included 159 adults who represented a wide range of…

  10. Reading in French-Speaking Adults with Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Jennifer; Cole, Pascale; Leuwers, Christel; Casalis, Severine; Zorman, Michel; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the reading and reading-related skills of 15 French-speaking adults with dyslexia, whose performance was compared with that of chronological-age controls (CA) and reading-level controls (RL). Experiment 1 assessed the efficiency of their phonological reading-related skills (phonemic awareness, phonological short-term…

  11. Reading Difficulties in Spanish Adults with Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suárez-Coalla, Paz; Cuetos, Fernando

    2015-01-01

    Recent studies show that dyslexia persists into adulthood, even in highly educated and well-read people. The main characteristic that adults with dyslexia present is a low speed when reading. In Spanish, a shallow orthographic system, no studies about adults with dyslexia are available; and it is possible that the consistency of the orthographic…

  12. Tracking reading: dual task costs of oral reading for young versus older adults.

    PubMed

    Kemper, Susan; Bontempo, Daniel; Schmalzried, RaLynn; McKedy, Whitney; Tagliaferri, Bruno; Kieweg, Doug

    2014-02-01

    A digital pursuit rotor was used to monitor oral reading costs by time-locking tracking performance to the auditory wave form produced as young and older adults were reading out short paragraphs. Multilevel modeling was used to determine how paragraph-level predictors of length, grammatical complexity, and readability and person-level predictors such as speaker age or working memory capacity predicted reading and tracking performance. In addition, sentence-by-sentence variation in tracking performance was examined during the production of individual sentences and during the pauses before upcoming sentences. The results suggest that dual tasking has a greater impact on older adults' reading comprehension and tracking performance. At the level of individual sentences, young and older adults adopt different strategies to deal with grammatically complex and propositionally dense sentences.

  13. Associations between the settings of exercise habits and health-related outcomes in community-dwelling older adults

    PubMed Central

    Makino, Keitaro; Ihira, Hikaru; Mizumoto, Atsushi; Shimizu, Kotaro; Ishida, Toyoaki; Furuna, Taketo

    2015-01-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the settings of exercise habits and health-related outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. [Subjects] A total of 304 Japanese community-dwelling older adults (70.3 ± 4.1 years; 113 males and 191 females) participated in this study. [Methods] Demographic characteristics, medical conditions, exercise habits, and health-related outcomes were assessed by face-to-face interviews and self-reported questionnaires. Older adults who had exercise habits were classified into two groups: individual- and group-based exercise habits groups, and the health-related outcomes were compared between groups. [Results] The scores for the Geriatric Depression Scale, exercise self-efficacy, and dietary variety of older adults who had group-based exercise habits were better than those of older adults who had individual-based exercise habits. In addition, the exercise settings (individual- and group-based) were significantly associated with scores for the Geriatric Depression Scale (odds ratio = 0.76) and exercise self-efficacy (odds ratio = 1.26), even after adjusting for age and gender. [Conclusion] These results implied that habitual exercise in group settings may have an effective role in promoting exercise self-efficacy and mental health. PMID:26311955

  14. Reading Performance of Young Adults With ADHD Diagnosed in Childhood.

    PubMed

    Miranda, Ana; Mercader, Jessica; Fernández, M Inmaculada; Colomer, Carla

    2017-02-01

    To study reading performance of young adults with ADHD and its relation with executive functioning. Thirty young adults with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD and 30 with normal development (ND) were compared on reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Furthermore, ADHD with reading disabilities (ADHD+RD) and ADHD without reading disabilities (ADHD-RD) subgroups were compared using self-report and informant-report versions of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A). Adults with ADHD obtained significantly worse results than the ND adults on reading speed, responses to literal questions, and a cloze test. Although the comparison of the ADHD+RD and ADHD-RD groups did not show significant differences on the BRIEF-A subscales, the ADHD+RD group surpassed the critical percentile (85) on more subscales, with working memory and metacognition especially affected. The findings point out that reading should be assessed in individuals with ADHD as part of their evaluation to design effective early interventions.

  15. Reading Interests of Young Adults in Medina County, Ohio.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fronius, Sandra K.

    The purpose of this study was to determine the reading interests of the young adult participants in the summer reading program at Medina County District Library (Ohio). Findings were compared to research done in other locations and to current bibliographies of recommended reading for young adults. The study looked at a systematic sample of reader…

  16. The Effects of Timed and Untimed Testing Conditions on the Reading Comprehension Performance of Adults with Reading Disabilities. Special Issue on Reading Comprehension ? Part II

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lesaux, Nonie K.; Pearson, M. Rufina; Siegel, Linda S.

    2006-01-01

    This study examined the effects of extra time on the reading comprehension performance of a heterogeneous group of adults with reading disabilities. Sixty-four adults participated. A clinic that assesses learning disabilities identified 22 as reading disabled, and 42 as normal readers. The 64 adults took a reading comprehension test under both…

  17. Literacy Attitudes, Habits and Achievements of Future Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benevides, Tina; Stagg Peterson, Shelley

    2010-01-01

    Pre-service teachers' reading habits and their literacy abilities affect their views toward teaching reading and writing and how they implement literacy instruction. This study explored the relationship between the past and current reading habits of pre-service teachers in relation to their reading and writing abilities. Participating teacher…

  18. Advanced Mind-Reading in Adults with Asperger Syndrome

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ponnet, Koen S.; Roeyers, Herbert; Buysse, Ann; De Clercq, Armand; Van Der Heyden, Eva

    2004-01-01

    This study investigated the mind-reading abilities of 19 adults with Asperger syndrome and 19 typically developing adults. Two static mind-reading tests and a more naturalistic empathic accuracy task were used. In the empathic accuracy task, participants attempted to infer the thoughts and feelings of target persons, while viewing a videotape of…

  19. Educational Innovation: Reading Meaning and Sense

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hortiales, Evelyne Suárez; Nieto, Angelica Ramos; Hurtado, María Elena Zepeda

    2017-01-01

    In recent years concern about Mexican reading habits has increased. Statistics show short reading interest; an average Mexican reads 3.8 books a year [1]. As teachers, reading habits are important and reflect students' skills and academic performances. Many teachers would complain about students reading habits; it is considered to be non-existent.…

  20. The Reading Habits and Literacy Attitudes of Inservice and Prospective Teachers: Results of a Questionnaire Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nathanson, Steven; Pruslow, John; Levitt, Roberta

    2008-01-01

    This article describes a questionnaire survey of 747 students enrolled in a graduate school of education, who are currently teachers or prospective teachers. The Literacy Habits Questionnaire, developed by Applegate and Applegate, was administered in September 2006. Findings suggest a high prevalence of aliteracy, the ability to read but a…

  1. Enhancing Response to Literature: A Matter of Changing Old Habits.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johannessen, Larry R.

    1994-01-01

    Contends that changing teaching habits may be the only educational reform that really works. Illustrates bad habits by discussing in detail the use of reading quizzes. Suggests that, instead of holding onto such habits to ensure that students read assigned texts, teachers choose more compelling works to read. (HB)

  2. College and Adult Reading I; First Annual Yearbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raygor, Alton L., Ed.

    This yearbook is a report of the papers presented at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the North Central Reading Association. The titles and authors of the papers included are: "Recent Research in College and Adult Reading" by Edward G. Summers; "The Definition of Reading" by Earl F. Rankin; "The Effect of Reading Training on College Achievement" by…

  3. Relationship between Critical Thinking Levels and Attitudes towards Reading Habits among Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bulgurcuoglu, Ahmet Nusret

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present research is to define the critical thinking levels and reading habits of students studying at the department of physical education and sports teaching and analysing the relationship between these. The participants of the present research are 136 pre-service physical education teachers studying at Mugla Sitki Kocman…

  4. Complex word reading in Dutch deaf children and adults.

    PubMed

    van Hoogmoed, Anne H; Knoors, Harry; Schreuder, Robert; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2013-03-01

    Children who are deaf are often delayed in reading comprehension. This delay could be due to problems in morphological processing during word reading. In this study, we investigated whether 6th grade deaf children and adults are delayed in comparison to their hearing peers in reading complex derivational words and compounds compared to monomorphemic words. The results show that deaf children are delayed in reading both derivational words and compounds as compared to hearing children, while both deaf and hearing adults performed equally well on a lexical decision task. However, deaf adults generally showed slower reaction times than hearing adults. For both deaf and hearing children, derivational words were more difficult than compounds, as reflected in hearing children's slower reaction times and in deaf children's lower accuracy scores. This finding likely reflects deaf children's lack of familiarity with the meaning of the bound morphemes attached to the stems in derivational words. Therefore, it might be beneficial to teach deaf children the meaning of bound morphemes and to train them to use morphology in word reading. Moreover, these findings imply that it is important to focus on both monomorphemic and polymorphemic words when assessing word reading ability in deaf children. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Prose Recall: Effects of Aging, Verbal Ability and Reading Behavior. Prose Learning Series Research Report No. 13.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rice, G. Elizabeth; Meyer, Bonnie J. F.

    A study was conducted to determine the effects of age, verbal ability, education, reading habits, and recall strategies on prose recall among adults. Subjects were 422 adults in three age groups--young (18-28 years), middle (40-54), and older (62-80). They were asked to read and recall in writing two 388-word prose passages and to answer questions…

  6. Looking Ahead with Hope: Reviving the Reading Maturity Construct as Social Science for Adolescent and Adult Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Matt

    2013-01-01

    "Reading maturity" is a construct that looks broadly at reading development encompassing not only basic reading skills but reading habits, attitudes, and dispositions. It has a rich history and this article calls for a need to make reading maturity a necessary part of the literacy curriculum. It offers a working description and reviews…

  7. Book Reading, Borrowing and Buying Habits (Eighteenth Congress, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 9-15 1968). Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brink, R. E. M. van den

    Investigation into the book buying, reading and borrowing habits is in many countries still in its infancy. Furthermore it is not yet possible to link up scientifically the socio-economic factors and market behavior. However it is justifiable to take the following principles: (1) the standard of economic development of a country determines the…

  8. Relative Effectiveness of Reading Intervention Programs for Adults with Low Literacy.

    PubMed

    Sabatini, John P; Shore, Jane; Holtzman, Steven; Scarborough, Hollis S

    2011-01-01

    To compare the efficacy of instructional programs for adult learners with basic reading skills below the seventh grade level, 300 adults were randomly assigned to one of three supplementary tutoring programs designed to strengthen decoding and fluency skills, and gains were examined for the 148 adult students who completed the program. The three intervention programs were based on or adapted from instructional programs that have been shown to benefit children with reading levels similar to those of the adult sample. Each program varied in its relative emphasis on basic decoding versus reading fluency instruction. A repeated measures MANOVA confirmed small to moderate reading gains from pre- to post-testing across a battery of targeted reading measures, but no significant relative differences across interventions. An additional 152 participants who failed to complete the intervention differed initially from those who persisted. Implications for future research and adult literacy instruction are discussed.

  9. Reading Disabilities in Adults: A Selective Meta-Analysis of the Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swanson, H. Lee; Hsieh, Ching-Ju

    2009-01-01

    This article synthesizes the experimental literature that compares the academic, cognitive, and behavioral performance of adults with reading disabilities to those of average-achieving adult readers. The central question posed by this review is to what extent and in what manner do adults with reading disabilities differ from adults without reading…

  10. Adults with reading disabilities: converting a meta-analysis to practice.

    PubMed

    Swanson, H Lee

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews the results of a meta-analysis of the experimental published literature that compares the academic, cognitive, and behavioral performance of adults with reading disabilities (RD) with average achieving adult readers. The meta-analysis shows that deficits independent of the classification measures emerged for adults with RD on measures of vocabulary, math, spelling, and specific cognitive process related to naming speed, phonological processing, and verbal memory. The results also showed that adults with high verbal IQs (scores > 100) but low word recognition standard scores (< 90) yielded greater deficits related to their average reading counterparts when compared to studies that included adults with RD with verbal IQ and reading scores in the same low range. Implications of the findings related to assessment and intervention are discussed.

  11. Development of a Healthy Dietary Habits Index for New Zealand Adults.

    PubMed

    Wong, Jyh Eiin; Haszard, Jillian J; Howe, Anna S; Parnell, Winsome R; Skidmore, Paula M L

    2017-05-03

    Healthful dietary habits are individually associated with better nutrient intake and positive health outcomes; however, this information is rarely examined together to validate an indicator of diet quality. This study developed a 15-item Healthy Dietary Habits Index (HDHI) based on self-reported dietary habits information collected in the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey. The validity of HDHI as a diet quality index was examined in relation to sociodemographic factors, 24-diet recall derived nutrient intakes, and nutritional biomarkers in a representative sample of adults aged 19 years and above. Linear regression models were employed to determine associations between HDHI quintiles and energy-adjusted nutrient data and nutritional biomarkers. Significantly higher HDHI scores were found among women, older age groups, Non-Māori or Pacific ethnic groups, and less socioeconomically-deprived groups (all p < 0.001). Increasing quintiles of HDHI were associated with higher intakes of dietary fibre and seven micronutrients including calcium, iron, and vitamin C, and lower intakes of energy, macronutrients, sodium, zinc, vitamins B6 and B12. Associations in the expected directions were also found for urinary sodium, whole blood folate, serum and red blood cell folate, and plasma selenium (all p < 0.001). The present findings suggest that the HDHI is a valid measure of diet quality as it is capable of discerning quality of diets of subgroups and ranking nutrient intakes among NZ adults.

  12. Development of a Healthy Dietary Habits Index for New Zealand Adults

    PubMed Central

    Wong, Jyh Eiin; Haszard, Jillian J.; Howe, Anna S.; Parnell, Winsome R.; Skidmore, Paula M. L.

    2017-01-01

    Healthful dietary habits are individually associated with better nutrient intake and positive health outcomes; however, this information is rarely examined together to validate an indicator of diet quality. This study developed a 15-item Healthy Dietary Habits Index (HDHI) based on self-reported dietary habits information collected in the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey. The validity of HDHI as a diet quality index was examined in relation to sociodemographic factors, 24-diet recall derived nutrient intakes, and nutritional biomarkers in a representative sample of adults aged 19 years and above. Linear regression models were employed to determine associations between HDHI quintiles and energy-adjusted nutrient data and nutritional biomarkers. Significantly higher HDHI scores were found among women, older age groups, Non-Māori or Pacific ethnic groups, and less socioeconomically-deprived groups (all p < 0.001). Increasing quintiles of HDHI were associated with higher intakes of dietary fibre and seven micronutrients including calcium, iron, and vitamin C, and lower intakes of energy, macronutrients, sodium, zinc, vitamins B6 and B12. Associations in the expected directions were also found for urinary sodium, whole blood folate, serum and red blood cell folate, and plasma selenium (all p < 0.001). The present findings suggest that the HDHI is a valid measure of diet quality as it is capable of discerning quality of diets of subgroups and ranking nutrient intakes among NZ adults. PMID:28467392

  13. Evaluation of use of reading comprehension strategies to improve reading comprehension of adult college students with acquired brain injury.

    PubMed

    Griffiths, Gina G; Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Kirk, Cecilia; Fickas, Stephen; Biancarosa, Gina

    2016-01-01

    Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI. Despite the rising need, empirical evaluation of reading comprehension interventions for adults with ABI is scarce. This study used a within-subject design to evaluate whether adult college students with ABI with no more than moderate cognitive impairments benefited from using reading comprehension strategies to improve comprehension of expository text. Integrating empirical support from the cognitive rehabilitation and special education literature, the researchers designed a multi-component reading comprehension strategy package. Participants read chapters from an introductory-level college anthropology textbook in two different conditions: strategy and no-strategy. The results indicated that reading comprehension strategy use was associated with recall of more correct information units in immediate and delayed free recall tasks; more efficient recall in the delayed free recall task; and increased accuracy recognising statements from a sentence verification task designed to reflect the local and global coherence of the text. The findings support further research into using reading comprehension strategies as an intervention approach for the adult ABI population. Future research needs include identifying how to match particular reading comprehension strategies to individuals, examining whether reading comprehension performance improves further through the incorporation of systematic training, and evaluating texts from a range of disciplines and genres.

  14. Reading Electronic and Printed Books with and without Adult Instruction: Effects on Emergent Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Segal-Drori, Ora; Korat, Ofra; Shamir, Adina; Klein, Pnina S.

    2010-01-01

    The effects of electronic book (e-book) and printed book reading on children's emergent reading with and without adult instruction were investigated. One hundred twenty-eight 5- to 6-year-old kindergarten children from low SES families were randomly assigned to one of four groups (32 children each): (1) independently reading the e-book (EB); (2)…

  15. Adult Age Differences in Knowledge-Driven Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Lisa M. Soederberg; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.; Kirkorian, Heather L.; Conroy, Michelle L.

    2004-01-01

    The authors investigated the effects of domain knowledge on online reading among younger and older adults. Individuals were randomly assigned to either a domain-relevant (i.e., high-knowledge) or domain-irrelevant (i.e., low-knowledge) training condition. Two days later, participants read target passages on a computer that drew on information…

  16. Connected Text Reading and Differences in Text Reading Fluency in Adult Readers

    PubMed Central

    Wallot, Sebastian; Hollis, Geoff; van Rooij, Marieke

    2013-01-01

    The process of connected text reading has received very little attention in contemporary cognitive psychology. This lack of attention is in parts due to a research tradition that emphasizes the role of basic lexical constituents, which can be studied in isolated words or sentences. However, this lack of attention is in parts also due to the lack of statistical analysis techniques, which accommodate interdependent time series. In this study, we investigate text reading performance with traditional and nonlinear analysis techniques and show how outcomes from multiple analyses can used to create a more detailed picture of the process of text reading. Specifically, we investigate reading performance of groups of literate adult readers that differ in reading fluency during a self-paced text reading task. Our results indicate that classical metrics of reading (such as word frequency) do not capture text reading very well, and that classical measures of reading fluency (such as average reading time) distinguish relatively poorly between participant groups. Nonlinear analyses of distribution tails and reading time fluctuations provide more fine-grained information about the reading process and reading fluency. PMID:23977177

  17. College-Adult Reading--Past, Present and Future.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spache, George D.

    College-adult reading research trends are discussed. The reading process; the influence of vision, perception, and personality; and program outcomes are noted as major trends of past studies, and a list of mistaken assumptions in these earlier studies is given. Present research shifts to the study of the role of both teacher and student…

  18. Lifestyle Habits among Adult Congenital Heart Disease Patients in Malta.

    PubMed

    Caruana, Maryanne; Grech, Victor

    2016-07-01

    Adult congenital heart disease patients are prone to health risk behaviors like their peers. Such behaviors can have serious implications, particularly in patients with complex congenital lesions. We investigated patterns in tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, substance misuse, dental reviews, and physical activity in Maltese patients. A questionnaire modeled on the 2008 European Health Interview Survey was offered to consecutive adult congenital heart disease outpatients, aged 16 years and over, between May 2013 and May 2014. Foreigners and patients with learning difficulties or cognitive impairment were excluded. Data on these habits was compared with that from 372 age-matched and sex-matched 2008 survey responders (general population cohort). There were 125 patient responders (65 males; mean age 30.64, SD 12.80 years). Adult congenital heart disease patients smoked less (patients 18.4%, general 32.0% P = .004) and had more regular dental reviews (patients 60.9%, general 45.2% P = .003) but were less physically active than the general population cohort (patients 30.6%, general 62.9% P < .001). The difference in smoking was only significant in patients born after the mid-1970s (younger) and females, while dental reviews were only better in younger and male patients. Male patients consumed alcohol more frequently (38.1%) than general population males (23.3%, P = .02). In the patient cohort, smoking was more likely with milder congenital lesions (OR 4.689, P = .007), substance misuse more likely in males (OR 5.703, P = .036) and with milder lesions (OR 5.405, P = .030) and alcohol consumption more likely in males (OR 11.697, P < .001). Although there is an overall lower uptake of some unhealthy habits by Maltese adult congenital heart disease patients, this is not consistent between sexes or age groups. Male and older patients and those with milder lesions might need more reinforcement of the advice given regarding lifestyle habits

  19. Assessing the reading comprehension of adults with learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Jones, F W; Long, K; Finlay, W M L

    2006-06-01

    This study's aim was to begin the process of measuring the reading comprehension of adults with mild and borderline learning disabilities, in order to generate information to help clinicians and other professionals to make written material for adults with learning disabilities more comprehensible. The Test for the Reception of Grammar (TROG), with items presented visually rather than orally, and the Reading Comprehension sub-test of the Wechsler Objective Reading Dimensions (WORD) battery were given to 24 service-users of a metropolitan community learning disability team who had an estimated IQ in the range 50-79. These tests were demonstrated to have satisfactory split-half reliability and convergent validity with this population, supporting both their use in this study and in clinical work. Data are presented concerning the distribution across the sample of reading-ages and the comprehension of written grammatical constructions. These data should be useful to those who are preparing written material for adults with learning disabilities.

  20. Examining the Relationships of Component Reading Skills to Reading Comprehension in Struggling Adult Readers: A Meta-Analysis.

    PubMed

    Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2016-07-01

    The current study employed a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relative importance of component reading skills to reading comprehension in struggling adult readers. A total of 10 component skills were consistently identified across 16 independent studies and 2,707 participants. Random effects models generated 76 predictor-reading comprehension effect sizes among the 10 constructs. The results indicated that six of the component skills exhibited strong relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .50): morphological awareness, language comprehension, fluency, oral vocabulary knowledge, real word decoding, and working memory. Three of the component skills yielded moderate relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .30 and < .50): pseudoword decoding, orthographic knowledge, and phonological awareness. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the only component skill that was weakly related to reading comprehension (r = .15). Morphological awareness was a significantly stronger correlate of reading comprehension than phonological awareness and RAN. This study provides the first attempt at a systematic synthesis of the recent research investigating the reading skills of adults with low literacy skills, a historically understudied population. Directions for future research, the relation of our results to the children's literature, and the implications for researchers and adult basic education programs are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  1. Examining the Relationships of Component Reading Skills to Reading Comprehension in Struggling Adult Readers: A Meta-Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    The current study employed a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relative importance of component reading skills to reading comprehension in struggling adult readers. A total of 10 component skills were consistently identified across 16 independent studies and 2,707 participants. Random effects models generated 76 predictor-reading comprehension effect sizes among the 10 constructs. The results indicated that six of the component skills exhibited strong relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .50): morphological awareness, language comprehension, fluency, oral vocabulary knowledge, real word decoding, and working memory. Three of the component skills yielded moderate relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .30 and < .50): pseudoword decoding, orthographic knowledge, and phonological awareness. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the only component skill that was weakly related to reading comprehension (r = .15). Morphological awareness was a significantly stronger correlate of reading comprehension than phonological awareness and RAN. This study provides the first attempt at a systematic synthesis of the recent research investigating the reading skills of adults with low literacy skills, a historically under-studied population. Directions for future research, the relation of our results to the children’s literature, and the implications for researchers and Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs are discussed. PMID:25350926

  2. Tracking Reading: Dual Task Costs of Oral Reading for Young versus Older Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kemper, Susan; Bontempo, Daniel; Schmalzried, RaLynn; McKedy, Whitney; Tagliaferri, Bruno; Kieweg, Doug

    2014-01-01

    A digital pursuit rotor was used to monitor oral reading costs by time-locking tracking performance to the auditory wave form produced as young and older adults were reading out short paragraphs. Multilevel modeling was used to determine how paragraph-level predictors of length, grammatical complexity, and readability and person-level predictors…

  3. Resting-state functional connectivity indexes reading competence in children and adults.

    PubMed

    Koyama, Maki S; Di Martino, Adriana; Zuo, Xi-Nian; Kelly, Clare; Mennes, Maarten; Jutagir, Devika R; Castellanos, F Xavier; Milham, Michael P

    2011-06-08

    Task-based neuroimaging studies face the challenge of developing tasks capable of equivalently probing reading networks across different age groups. Resting-state fMRI, which requires no specific task, circumvents these difficulties. Here, in 25 children (8-14 years) and 25 adults (21-46 years), we examined the extent to which individual differences in reading competence can be related to resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of regions implicated in reading. In both age groups, reading standard scores correlated positively with RSFC between the left precentral gyrus and other motor regions, and between Broca's and Wernicke's areas. This suggests that, regardless of age group, stronger coupling among motor regions, as well as between language/speech regions, subserves better reading, presumably reflecting automatized articulation. We also observed divergent RSFC-behavior relationships in children and adults, particularly those anchored in the left fusiform gyrus (FFG) (the visual word form area). In adults, but not children, better reading performance was associated with stronger positive correlations between FFG and phonology-related regions (Broca's area and the left inferior parietal lobule), and with stronger negative relationships between FFG and regions of the "task-negative" default network. These results suggest that both positive RSFC (functional coupling) between reading regions and negative RSFC (functional segregation) between a reading region and default network regions are important for automatized reading, characteristic of adult readers. Together, our task-independent RSFC findings highlight the importance of appreciating developmental changes in the neural correlates of reading competence, and suggest that RSFC may serve to facilitate the identification of reading disorders in different age groups.

  4. Reading and writing skills in young adults with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

    PubMed

    Barnes, Marcia; Dennis, Maureen; Hetherington, Ross

    2004-09-01

    Reading and writing were studied in 31 young adults with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH). Like children with this condition, young adults with SBH had better word decoding than reading comprehension, and, compared to population means, had lower scores on a test of writing fluency. Reading comprehension was predicted by word decoding and listening comprehension. Writing was predicted by fine motor finger function, verbal intelligence, and short-term and working memory. These findings are consistent with cognitive models of reading and writing. Writing, but not reading, was related to highest level of education achieved and writing fluency predicted several aspects of functional independence. Reading comprehension and writing remain deficient in adults with SBH and have consequences for educational attainments and functional independence.

  5. Is Adult Reading a Guide to Educational-Vocational Achievement?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Athanasou, James A.

    2011-01-01

    Reading is theorised as a key aspect of one's educational and vocational adjustment. The reading scores on the "Wide-Range Achievement Test 3" of 465 adult vocational assessment clients were examined. Reading varied across a range of social factors and the overall results were consistent with earlier studies, especially the "Adult…

  6. Young and Older Adults' Reading of Distracters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kemper, Susan; Mcdowd, Joan; Metcalf, Kim; Liu, Chiung-Ju

    2008-01-01

    Eye-tracking technology was employed to examine young and older adults' performance in the reading with distraction paradigm. Distracters of 1, 2, and 4 words that formed meaningful phrases were used. There were marked age differences in fixation patterns. Young adults' fixations to the distracters and targets increased with distracter length.…

  7. Habit training versus habit training with direct visual biofeedback in adults with chronic constipation: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Norton, Christine; Emmanuel, Anton; Stevens, Natasha; Scott, S Mark; Grossi, Ugo; Bannister, Sybil; Eldridge, Sandra; Mason, James M; Knowles, Charles H

    2017-03-24

    Constipation affects up to 20% of adults. Chronic constipation (CC) affects 1-2% of adults. Patient dissatisfaction is high; nearly 80% feel that laxative therapy is unsatisfactory and symptoms have significant impact on quality of life. There is uncertainty about the value of specialist investigations and whether equipment-intensive therapies using biofeedback confer additional benefit when compared with specialist conservative advice. A three-arm, parallel-group, multicentre randomised controlled trial. to determine whether standardised specialist-led habit training plus pelvic floor retraining using computerised biofeedback is more clinically effective than standardised specialist-led habit training alone; to determine whether outcomes are improved by stratification based on prior investigation of anorectal and colonic pathophysiology. Primary outcome measure is response to treatment, defined as a 0.4-point (10% of scale) or greater reduction in Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) score 6 months after the end of treatment. Other outcomes up to 12 months include symptoms, quality of life, health economics, psychological health and qualitative experience. (1) habit training (HT) with computer-assisted direct visual biofeedback (HTBF) results in an average reduction in PAC-QOL score of 0.4 points at 6 months compared to HT alone in unselected adults with CC, (2) stratification to either HT or HTBF informed by pathophysiological investigation (INVEST) results in an average 0.4-point reduction in PAC-QOL score at 6 months compared with treatment not directed by investigations (No-INVEST). Inclusion: chronic constipation in adults (aged 18-70 years) defined by self-reported symptom duration of more than 6 months; failure of previous laxatives or prokinetics and diet and lifestyle modifications. Consenting participants (n = 394) will be randomised to one of three arms in an allocation ratio of 3:3:2: [1] habit training, [2] habit

  8. Complex Word Reading in Dutch Deaf Children and Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Hoogmoed, Anne H.; Knoors, Harry; Schreuder, Robert; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2013-01-01

    Children who are deaf are often delayed in reading comprehension. This delay could be due to problems in morphological processing during word reading. In this study, we investigated whether 6th grade deaf children and adults are delayed in comparison to their hearing peers in reading complex derivational words and compounds compared to…

  9. The Reading Venture: Accelerating Language Acquisition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sifontes, Aida I.; Baez, Dodie

    This presentation describes how to use reading to improve second language acquisition. Part 1, "Building Awareness of Reading Habits and Attitudes," has students report their habits and attitudes about reading in English and their native language and recognize the importance of reading for improving English skills. Part 2, "Choosing a Book," has…

  10. Examining the Relationships of Component Reading Skills to Reading Comprehension in Struggling Adult Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2016-01-01

    The current study employed a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relative importance of component reading skills to reading comprehension in struggling adult readers. A total of 10 component skills were consistently identified across 16 independent studies and 2,707 participants. Random effects models generated 76 predictor-reading…

  11. Teaching Reading and Spelling to Adult Learners: The Multisensory Structured Language Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ali, Shamim

    2012-01-01

    All over the World most effective methods for teaching reading to beginning-level adults have been applied. My continuing challenge has been to determine how reading acquisition research can be applied to teaching reading to adults. In this article, I describe the techniques I have found most useful; I hope other teachers working with beginning…

  12. Reading Is Your Thing (Even if You're Not a Reading Teacher)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zwiers, Jeff

    2011-01-01

    The activities described in this article, Prediction Path and Quotation Cafe, are adapted from the IRA book "Building Reading Comprehension Habits in Grades 6-12." They highlight the reading comprehension habit of making inferences and predictions, which can be used across content areas and grade levels. In creating this toolkit of activities, the…

  13. Differences between child and adult large-scale functional brain networks for reading tasks.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xin; Gao, Yue; Di, Qiqi; Hu, Jiali; Lu, Chunming; Nan, Yun; Booth, James R; Liu, Li

    2018-02-01

    Reading is an important high-level cognitive function of the human brain, requiring interaction among multiple brain regions. Revealing differences between children's large-scale functional brain networks for reading tasks and those of adults helps us to understand how the functional network changes over reading development. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 17 adults (19-28 years old) and 16 children (11-13 years old), and graph theoretical analyses to investigate age-related changes in large-scale functional networks during rhyming and meaning judgment tasks on pairs of visually presented Chinese characters. We found that: (1) adults had stronger inter-regional connectivity and nodal degree in occipital regions, while children had stronger inter-regional connectivity in temporal regions, suggesting that adults rely more on visual orthographic processing whereas children rely more on auditory phonological processing during reading. (2) Only adults showed between-task differences in inter-regional connectivity and nodal degree, whereas children showed no task differences, suggesting the topological organization of adults' reading network is more specialized. (3) Children showed greater inter-regional connectivity and nodal degree than adults in multiple subcortical regions; the hubs in children were more distributed in subcortical regions while the hubs in adults were more distributed in cortical regions. These findings suggest that reading development is manifested by a shift from reliance on subcortical to cortical regions. Taken together, our study suggests that Chinese reading development is supported by developmental changes in brain connectivity properties, and some of these changes may be domain-general while others may be specific to the reading domain. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Preservation of memory-based automaticity in reading for older adults.

    PubMed

    Rawson, Katherine A; Touron, Dayna R

    2015-12-01

    Concerning age-related effects on cognitive skill acquisition, the modal finding is that older adults do not benefit from practice to the same extent as younger adults in tasks that afford a shift from slower algorithmic processing to faster memory-based processing. In contrast, Rawson and Touron (2009) demonstrated a relatively rapid shift to memory-based processing in the context of a reading task. The current research extended beyond this initial study to provide more definitive evidence for relative preservation of memory-based automaticity in reading tasks for older adults. Younger and older adults read short stories containing unfamiliar noun phrases (e.g., skunk mud) followed by disambiguating information indicating the combination's meaning (either the normatively dominant meaning or an alternative subordinate meaning). Stories were repeated across practice blocks, and then the noun phrases were presented in novel sentence frames in a transfer task. Both age groups shifted from computation to retrieval after relatively few practice trials (as evidenced by convergence of reading times for dominant and subordinate items). Most important, both age groups showed strong evidence for memory-based processing of the noun phrases in the transfer task. In contrast, older adults showed minimal shifting to retrieval in an alphabet arithmetic task, indicating that the preservation of memory-based automaticity in reading was task-specific. Discussion focuses on important implications for theories of memory-based automaticity in general and for specific theoretical accounts of age effects on memory-based automaticity, as well as fruitful directions for future research. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Musical Experience, Sensorineural Auditory Processing, and Reading Subskills in Adults.

    PubMed

    Tichko, Parker; Skoe, Erika

    2018-04-27

    Developmental research suggests that sensorineural auditory processing, reading subskills (e.g., phonological awareness and rapid naming), and musical experience are related during early periods of reading development. Interestingly, recent work suggests that these relations may extend into adulthood, with indices of sensorineural auditory processing relating to global reading ability. However, it is largely unknown whether sensorineural auditory processing relates to specific reading subskills, such as phonological awareness and rapid naming, as well as musical experience in mature readers. To address this question, we recorded electrophysiological responses to a repeating click (auditory stimulus) in a sample of adult readers. We then investigated relations between electrophysiological responses to sound, reading subskills, and musical experience in this same set of adult readers. Analyses suggest that sensorineural auditory processing, reading subskills, and musical experience are related in adulthood, with faster neural conduction times and greater musical experience associated with stronger rapid-naming skills. These results are similar to the developmental findings that suggest reading subskills are related to sensorineural auditory processing and musical experience in children.

  16. Musical Experience, Sensorineural Auditory Processing, and Reading Subskills in Adults

    PubMed Central

    Tichko, Parker; Skoe, Erika

    2018-01-01

    Developmental research suggests that sensorineural auditory processing, reading subskills (e.g., phonological awareness and rapid naming), and musical experience are related during early periods of reading development. Interestingly, recent work suggests that these relations may extend into adulthood, with indices of sensorineural auditory processing relating to global reading ability. However, it is largely unknown whether sensorineural auditory processing relates to specific reading subskills, such as phonological awareness and rapid naming, as well as musical experience in mature readers. To address this question, we recorded electrophysiological responses to a repeating click (auditory stimulus) in a sample of adult readers. We then investigated relations between electrophysiological responses to sound, reading subskills, and musical experience in this same set of adult readers. Analyses suggest that sensorineural auditory processing, reading subskills, and musical experience are related in adulthood, with faster neural conduction times and greater musical experience associated with stronger rapid-naming skills. These results are similar to the developmental findings that suggest reading subskills are related to sensorineural auditory processing and musical experience in children. PMID:29702572

  17. Reading habits and attitude toward medical humanities of basic science students in a medical college in Western Nepal.

    PubMed

    Shankar, P Ravi; Dubey, Arun K; Mishra, P; Upadhyay, Dinesh K

    2008-01-01

    The Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, admits students from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries to the undergraduate medical course. The present study sought to describe and explore reading habits of medical students during the first three semesters and obtain their views regarding inclusion of medical humanities in the course. The authors introduced a voluntary module in medical humanities to the fifth- and sixth-semester students. Gender, semester, and nationality of respondents were noted. Commonly read noncourse books (fiction and nonfiction) were noted. Student attitudes toward medical humanities were studied using a set of nine statements. A total of 165 of the 220 students (75%) participated. Indians followed by Nepalese were the most common nationalities. Romantic fiction and biography were most commonly read. The Alchemist and The Da Vinci Code were commonly read books. Students were in favor of inclusion of medical humanities in the curriculum. The median total score was 30 (maximum possible score = 45). Students read widely beyond their course. The possibility of introducing medical humanities in the curriculum should be explored.

  18. The impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in adults and children.

    PubMed

    Newman, Sharlene D; Soylu, Firat

    2014-07-01

    Here, we explored the impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in both adults and children. Two groups of participants were examined, those that begin counting with their left hand (left-starters) and those that begin counting with their right hand (right-starters). For the adults, performance on an addition task in which participants added 2 two-digit numbers was compared. The results revealed that left-starters were slower than right-starters when adding and they had lower forward and backward digit-span scores. The children (aged 5-12) showed similar results on a single-digit timed addition task-right-starters outperformed left-starters. However, the children did not reveal differences in working memory or verbal and non-verbal intelligence as a function of finger counting habit. We argue that the motor act of finger counting influences how number is represented and suggest that left-starters may have a more bilateral representation that accounts for the slower processing.

  19. Adolescent reading skill and engagement with digital and traditional literacies as predictors of reading comprehension.

    PubMed

    Duncan, Lynne G; McGeown, Sarah P; Griffiths, Yvonne M; Stothard, Susan E; Dobai, Anna

    2016-05-01

    This study investigates the concurrent predictors of adolescent reading comprehension (literal, inferential) for fiction and non-fiction texts. Predictors were examined from the cognitive (word identification, reading fluency), psychological (gender), and ecological (print exposure) domains. Print exposure to traditional and digital texts was surveyed using a diary method of reading habits. A cross-sectional sample of 312 students in early (11-13 years) or middle adolescence (14-15 years) participated from a range of SES backgrounds. Word identification emerged as a strong predictor of reading comprehension across adolescence and text genres. Gender effects favouring female students were evident for reading frequency but not for reading skill itself. Reading habits also differed, and comprehension advantages were observed among females for fiction and males for non-fiction. Age effects emerged for reading frequency, which was lower in middle adolescence. Although more time was spent on digital than on traditional texts, traditional extended text reading was the only reading habit to predict inference-making in comprehension and to distinguish skilled from less skilled comprehenders. The theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  20. Correlations Between Nutrition Habits, Anxiety and Metabolic Parameters in Greek Healthy Adults.

    PubMed

    Lambrinakou, Stavroula; Katsa, Maria Efthymia; Zyga, Sofia; Ioannidis, Anastasios; Sachlas, Athanasios; Panoutsopoulos, Georgios; Pistikou, Anna Maria; Magana, Maria; Kougioumtzi Dimoligianni, Dafni Eleni; Kolovos, Petros; Rojas Gil, Andrea Paola

    2017-01-01

    Anxiety combined with nervousness and apprehension consist a focal response to different life conditions. Lifestyle habits, anxiety and biochemical markers are in a constant interaction. To investigate the prevalence of anxiety in healthy adults and its possible association with biochemical factors-lipid profile, liver markers, thyroid hormones-and lifestyle habits. Quantitative descriptive correlation study. A total of 100 healthy adults participated in the research. A specially designed questionnaire and Hamilton's scale were used. Anthropometric and biochemical analyses were performed. Overall, 61% of the participants presented moderate to very serious anxiety. The average score on the Hamilton scale was 13.82 (±9.000), with men exhibiting less stress than women. For p ≤ 0.05: Stress was positively correlated with impaired thyroid and hepatic function. Hepatic function was affected by both sugar products and water melon, which were positively correlated with total bilirubin and AST/SGOT respectively. Tomato, peppers and legumes were negatively correlated with AST/SGOT. Deep fried food was positively correlated with GGT and triglycerides. Legumes and fish were negatively correlated with CPK. Regarding the lipid metabolism, it was found that food cooked with oil was positively associated with uric acid, but non-cooked olive oil was negatively correlated with the risk for CAD. Thyroid function was negatively correlated with non-homemade food and pasta consumption and positively correlated with consumption of whole grains and green tea. Participants with subclinical hypothyroidism seemed to consume less vitamin B12, folic acid and vegetables. No direct correlation between lifestyle habits and anxiety was found. Nevertheless, eating habits influenced biochemical markers-especially the thyroid hormones-which may be indirectly responsible for anxiety and related moods.

  1. Correlation Study of Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) and Adult Basic Education (ABE) Reading Tests. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garreton, Rodrigo; Terdy, Dennis

    In a study prompted by the need to standardize the reporting of educational progress of adult language minority students in Illinois, a commonly used adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) reading test was compared with two frequently used Adult Basic Education (ABE) reading tests. The testing instruments used were the ELSA (English Language…

  2. Understanding everyday life of morbidly obese adults-habits and body image.

    PubMed

    Christiansen, Bjørg; Borge, Lisbet; Fagermoen, May Solveig

    2012-01-01

    Morbid obesity is a progressive, chronic condition associated with failed attempts at change and repeated relapses. There seems to be little previous research into the understanding of the everyday life of morbidly obese adults. We wanted to gain more knowledge about characteristics of eating habits and body image as well as motivational forces for change. A qualitative approach was chosen in order to gain insight into how morbidly obese adults experience everyday life. Qualitative interviews are well suited to provide insight into themes from the interviewee's life story from the subjects' own perspectives. To gain insight into such processes, a narrative approach that allowed the informants to give voice to their ways of doing, thinking and feeling in daily life, was adopted. The informants comprised seven women and four men aged of 26-56 years, recruited from a population of obese individuals who had participated in a weight reduction course. A hermeneutic approach was used where the research question was the basis for a reflective interpretation. The following meaning-units were identified: to be perceived as overweight; and to see oneself as overweight. Ingrained habits: the struggle between knowing and doing; acting without knowing; and eating is soothing. Seeing oneself as an obese person is a gradual process that implied experiencing oneself as different from significant others, such as (slim) siblings and friends. To experience a gap between knowing and doing concerning food habits in everyday life indicates that informants value they have a choice. This is an important insight to consider when framing interventions to support this vulnerable group.

  3. Reading Component Skills of Learners in Adult Basic Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacArthur, Charles A.; Konold, Timothy R.; Glutting, Joseph J.; Alamprese, Judith A.

    2010-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components…

  4. Development of an Evidence-Based Reading Fluency Program for Adult Literacy Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shore, Jane; Sabatini, John; Lentini, Jennifer; Holtzman, Steven; McNeil, Adjua

    2015-01-01

    Fluency is an essential part of skilled reading that has only recently begun to receive its deserved attention. However, programs that meaningfully engage adult learners in fluency training have not been widely explored in research. In this article, the authors describe an evidence-based adult Guided Repeated Reading program developed for…

  5. Idea Sharing: The Use of Read-Share-Act to Promote Extensive Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Charumanee, Nisakorn

    2014-01-01

    Nisakorn Charumanee believes that a reading teacher has an active role in cultivating reading culture or reading habit and in activating students to "want" to read. One way to do this is to integrate extensive reading into the classroom (Day and Bamford, 1998; Bamford and Day, 2004) where extensive reading can be enhanced if the teacher…

  6. Relationships among Cortical Thickness, Reading Skill, and Print Exposure in Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldman, Jason G.; Manis, Frank R.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated relationships among cortical thickness in the left-hemisphere reading network, and reading skill and experience in adult nonimpaired readers. Given the relationship between print exposure and reading, it is possible that print exposure is related to cortical structure. The pattern of correlations indicated that individuals…

  7. Lifestyle habits and obesity progression in overweight and obese American young adults: Lessons for promoting cardiometabolic health.

    PubMed

    Cha, EunSeok; Akazawa, Margeaux K; Kim, Kevin H; Dawkins, Colleen R; Lerner, Hannah M; Umpierrez, Guillermo; Dunbar, Sandra B

    2015-12-01

    Obesity among young adults is a growing problem in the United States and is related to unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as high caloric intake and inadequate exercise. Accurate assessment of lifestyle habits across obesity stages is important for informing age-specific intervention strategies to prevent and reduce obesity progression. Using a modified version of the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (mEOSS), a new scale for defining obesity risk and predicting obesity morbidity and mortality, this cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of overweight/obese conditions in 105 young adults and compared their lifestyle habits across the mEOSS stages. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and one-way analyses of variance were performed. Eighty percent of participants (n = 83) fell into the mEOSS-2 group and had obesity-related chronic disorders, such as diabetes, hypertension, and/or dyslipidemia. There were significant differences in dietary quality and patterns across the mEOSS stages. Findings highlighted the significance of prevention and early treatment for overweight and obese young adults to prevent and cease obesity progression. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  8. Reading comprehension skills of young adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Ransby, Marilyn J; Swanson, H Lee

    2003-01-01

    This study explores the contribution of cognitive processes to comprehension skills in adults who suffered from childhood developmental dyslexia (CD). The performance of adults with CD (ages 17 to 23), chronological age-matched (CA) adults, and reading level-matched (RL) children was compared on measures of phonological processing, naming speed, working memory (WM), general knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension. The results showed that adults with CD scored lower on measures of phonological processing, naming speed, WM, general knowledge, and vocabulary when compared to CA readers but were comparable to RL children on the majority of process measures. Phonological processing, naming speed, vocabulary, general knowledge, and listening comprehension contributed independent variance to reading comprehension accuracy, whereas WM, intelligence, phonological processing, and listening comprehension contributed independent variance to comprehension fluency. Adults with CD scored lower than CA adults and higher than RL children on measures of lexical processing, WM, and listening comprehension when word recognition and intelligence were partialed from the analysis. In summary, constraints in phonological processing and naming speed mediate only some of the influence of high-order processes on reading comprehension. Furthermore, adults with CD experience difficulties in WM, listening comprehension, and vocabulary independently of their word recognition problems and intellectual ability.

  9. Eye movements and the perceptual span during first- and second-language sentence reading in bilingual older adults.

    PubMed

    Whitford, Veronica; Titone, Debra

    2016-02-01

    This study addressed a central yet previously unexplored issue in the psychological science of aging, namely, whether the advantages of healthy aging (e.g., greater lifelong experience with language) or disadvantages (e.g., decreases in cognitive and sensory processing) drive L1 and L2 reading performance in bilingual older adults. To this end, we used a gaze-contingent moving window paradigm to examine both global aspects of reading fluency (e.g., reading rates, number of regressions) and the perceptual span (i.e., allocation of visual attention into the parafovea) in bilingual older adults during L1 and L2 sentence reading, as a function of individual differences in current L2 experience. Across the L1 and L2, older adults exhibited reduced reading fluency (e.g., slower reading rates, more regressions), but a similar perceptual span compared with matched younger adults. Also similar to matched younger adults, older adults' reading fluency was lower for L2 reading than for L1 reading as a function of current L2 experience. Specifically, greater current L2 experience increased L2 reading fluency, but decreased L1 reading fluency (for global reading measures only). Taken together, the dissociation between intact perceptual span and impaired global reading measures suggests that older adults may prioritize parafoveal processing despite age-related encoding difficulties. Consistent with this interpretation, post hoc analyses revealed that older adults with higher versus lower executive control were more likely to adopt this strategy. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. We Spent Our Summer Chasing Unicorns: A Young Adult Reading Game Update.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edgerton, Cathi

    1986-01-01

    Describes a young adult summer reading game which is offered in three age-level versions from grades 1 through 12 at Enoch Pratt Free Library (Maryland). Benefits of young adult reading games in public libraries, game rules and sample questions, and the game finale visit to Walters Art Gallery are highlighted. (EJS)

  11. Prosody as a Tool for Assessing Reading Fluency of Adult ESL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinambela, Seftirina Evina

    2017-01-01

    The prosodic features in reading aloud assignment has been associated with the students' decoding skill. The goal of the present study is to determine the reliability of prosody for assessing reading fluency of adult ESL students in Indonesia context. The participants were all Indonesian natives, undergraduate students, adult females and males who…

  12. Improved reading measures in adults with dyslexia following transcranial direct current stimulation treatment.

    PubMed

    Heth, Inbahl; Lavidor, Michal

    2015-04-01

    To better understand the contribution of the dorsal system to word reading, we explored transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effects when adults with developmental dyslexia received active stimulation over the visual extrastriate area MT/V5, which is dominated by magnocellular input. Stimulation was administered in 5 sessions spread over two weeks, and reading speed and accuracy as well as reading fluency were assessed before, immediately after, and a week after the end of the treatment. A control group of adults with developmental dyslexia matched for age, gender, reading level, vocabulary and block-design WAIS-III sub-tests and reading level was exposed to the same protocol but with sham stimulation. The results revealed that active, but not sham stimulation, significantly improved reading speed and fluency. This finding suggests that the dorsal stream may play a role in efficient retrieval from the orthographic input lexicon in the lexical route. It also underscores the potential of tDCS as an intervention tool for improving reading speed, at least in adults with developmental dyslexia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Reading Profiles for Adults with Low-Literacy: Cluster Analysis with Power and Speeded Measures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mellard, Daryl F.; Fall, Emily; Mark, Caroline

    2009-01-01

    The United States' National Institute for Literacy's (NIFL) review of adult literacy instruction research recommended adult education (AE) programs assess underlying reading abilities in order to plan appropriate instruction for low-literacy learners. This study developed adult reading ability groups using measures from power tests and speeded…

  14. The Hands and Reading: What Deafblind Adult Readers Tell Us

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ingraham, Cynthia L.; Andrews, Jean F.

    2010-01-01

    Deafblind readers are heterogeneous in reading skill acquisition. This qualitative study uses in-depth interviews and protocol analyses and queries the three deafblind adult participants in describing their metacomprehension, metacognitive and metalinguistic strategies used when reading different types of text. Using retrospective analysis, the…

  15. Student Academic Reading Preferences: A Study of Online Reading Habits and Inclinations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Podolsky, Tim; Soiferman, Karen

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore student preferences regarding reading print materials or online reading materials for academic purposes, as well as to examine how students adapt traditional reading strategies such as underlining, highlighting, and taking marginal notes when reading electronic texts. A total of 61 participants (32…

  16. Understanding everyday life of morbidly obese adults-habits and body image

    PubMed Central

    Borge, Lisbet; Fagermoen, May Solveig

    2012-01-01

    Background Morbid obesity is a progressive, chronic condition associated with failed attempts at change and repeated relapses. Aim There seems to be little previous research into the understanding of the everyday life of morbidly obese adults. We wanted to gain more knowledge about characteristics of eating habits and body image as well as motivational forces for change. Methods A qualitative approach was chosen in order to gain insight into how morbidly obese adults experience everyday life. Qualitative interviews are well suited to provide insight into themes from the interviewee's life story from the subjects’ own perspectives. To gain insight into such processes, a narrative approach that allowed the informants to give voice to their ways of doing, thinking and feeling in daily life, was adopted. The informants comprised seven women and four men aged of 26–56 years, recruited from a population of obese individuals who had participated in a weight reduction course. A hermeneutic approach was used where the research question was the basis for a reflective interpretation. Results The following meaning-units were identified: to be perceived as overweight; and to see oneself as overweight. Ingrained habits: the struggle between knowing and doing; acting without knowing; and eating is soothing. Conclusions Seeing oneself as an obese person is a gradual process that implied experiencing oneself as different from significant others, such as (slim) siblings and friends. To experience a gap between knowing and doing concerning food habits in everyday life indicates that informants value they have a choice. This is an important insight to consider when framing interventions to support this vulnerable group. PMID:22866062

  17. Dual Task Costs of Oral Reading for Young versus Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Kemper, Susan; Bontempo, Daniel; Schmalzried, RaLynn; McKedy, Whitney; Tagliaferri, Bruno; Kieweg, Doug

    2013-01-01

    A digital pursuit rotor was used to monitor oral reading costs by time-locking tracking performance to the auditory wave form produced as young and older adults were reading out short paragraphs. Multilevel modeling was used to determine how paragraph-level predictors of length, grammatical complexity, and readability and person-level predictors such as speaker age or working memory capacity predicted reading and tracking performance. In addition, sentence-by-sentence variation in tracking performance was examined during the production of individual sentences and during the pauses before upcoming sentences. The results suggest that dual tasking has a greater impact on older adults’ reading comprehension and tracking performance. At the level of individual sentences, young and older adults adopt different strategies to deal with grammatically complex and propositionally dense sentences. PMID:23463405

  18. Assessing the Reading Comprehension of Adults with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, F. W.; Long, K.; Finlay, W. M. L.

    2006-01-01

    Background: This study's aim was to begin the process of measuring the reading comprehension of adults with mild and borderline learning disabilities, in order to generate information to help clinicians and other professionals to make written material for adults with learning disabilities more comprehensible. Methods: The Test for the Reception of…

  19. Characterizing sleeping habits and disturbances among Saudi adults.

    PubMed

    Al-Tannir, Mohamad; Kobrosly, Samer Y; Al-Badr, Ahmad H; Salloum, Nourhan A; Altannir, Youssef M

    2016-12-01

    To characterize sleeping habits, assess sleep disturbance prevalence, and identify associated factors among Saudi adults.  Methods: A total of 1720 adults were approached for this observational cross-sectional study between October 2014 and March 2015. The study took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. We used a questionnaire to describe sleeping characteristics in relation to existing chronic diseases, smoking status, obesity, daily performance and sociodemographic variables. Results: The response rate was 79.6% (1369 participants), 61.6% have or may have sleeping disturbances of which 18.6% claimed either slowed or stopped breathing during sleep. Women reported a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances (65.2%). Feeling tired was significantly associated with sleep disturbance (49% versus 19.7%) (p greater than 0.001). Approximately 78.4% of those with sleep disturbance significantly believed that their ability to perform daily tasks is affected (p=0.005). Moreover, smoking and obesity were significantly associated with sleep disturbances (p less than 0.01). Participants with asthma, hypertension, chronic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus reported significantly more sleeping disturbance (p=0.016 to p=0.001). Conclusions: Sleep disturbances are associated with obesity, smoking, chronic health conditions, and lower performance among  Saudi adults.

  20. The Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) in Icelandic: Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Halldorsson, Jonas G.; Steinberg, Stacy; Hansdottir, Ingunn; Kristjansson, Kristleifur; Stefansson, Hreinn; Stefansson, Kari

    2014-01-01

    This article describes psychometric testing of an Icelandic adaptation of the "Adult Reading History Questionnaire" (ARHQ), designed to detect a history of reading difficulties indicative of dyslexia. Tested in a large and diverse sample of 2,187 adults, the Icelandic adaptation demonstrated internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's…

  1. Effects of Early Smoking Habits on Young Adult Female Voices in Greece.

    PubMed

    Tafiadis, Dionysios; Toki, Eugenia I; Miller, Kevin J; Ziavra, Nausica

    2017-11-01

    Cigarette use is a preventable cause of mortality and diseases. The World Health Organization states that Europe and especially Greece has the highest occurrence of smoking among adults. The prevalence of smoking among women in Greece was estimated to be over 30% in 2012. Smoking is a risk factor for many diseases. Studies have demonstrated the association between smoking and laryngeal pathologies as well as changes in voice characteristics. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of early smoking habit on young adult female voices and if they perceive any vocal changes using two assessment methods. The Voice Handicap Index and the acoustic analyses of voice measurements were used, with both serving as mini-assessment protocols. Two hundred and ten young females (110 smokers and 100 nonsmokers) attending the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus in the School of Health and Welfare were included. Statistically significant increases for physical and total scores of the Voice Handicap Index were found in the smokers group (P < 0.05). Significant changes were observed for the acoustic parameters between smoker and nonsmoker groups. The results of this study indicated observable signs of change in the voice acoustic characteristics of young adults with early smoking habits. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Braille in the Sighted: Teaching Tactile Reading to Sighted Adults.

    PubMed

    Bola, Łukasz; Siuda-Krzywicka, Katarzyna; Paplińska, Małgorzata; Sumera, Ewa; Hańczur, Paweł; Szwed, Marcin

    2016-01-01

    Blind people are known to have superior perceptual abilities in their remaining senses. Several studies suggest that these enhancements are dependent on the specific experience of blind individuals, who use those remaining senses more than sighted subjects. In line with this view, sighted subjects, when trained, are able to significantly progress in relatively simple tactile tasks. However, the case of complex tactile tasks is less obvious, as some studies suggest that visual deprivation itself could confer large advantages in learning them. It remains unclear to what extent those complex skills, such as braille reading, can be learnt by sighted subjects. Here we enrolled twenty-nine sighted adults, mostly braille teachers and educators, in a 9-month braille reading course. At the beginning of the course, all subjects were naive in tactile braille reading. After the course, almost all were able to read whole braille words at a mean speed of 6 words-per-minute. Subjects with low tactile acuity did not differ significantly in braille reading speed from the rest of the group, indicating that low tactile acuity is not a limiting factor for learning braille, at least at this early stage of learning. Our study shows that most sighted adults can learn whole-word braille reading, given the right method and a considerable amount of motivation. The adult sensorimotor system can thus adapt, to some level, to very complex tactile tasks without visual deprivation. The pace of learning in our group was comparable to congenitally and early blind children learning braille in primary school, which suggests that the blind's mastery of complex tactile tasks can, to a large extent, be explained by experience-dependent mechanisms.

  3. Braille in the Sighted: Teaching Tactile Reading to Sighted Adults

    PubMed Central

    Bola, Łukasz; Siuda-Krzywicka, Katarzyna; Paplińska, Małgorzata; Sumera, Ewa; Hańczur, Paweł; Szwed, Marcin

    2016-01-01

    Blind people are known to have superior perceptual abilities in their remaining senses. Several studies suggest that these enhancements are dependent on the specific experience of blind individuals, who use those remaining senses more than sighted subjects. In line with this view, sighted subjects, when trained, are able to significantly progress in relatively simple tactile tasks. However, the case of complex tactile tasks is less obvious, as some studies suggest that visual deprivation itself could confer large advantages in learning them. It remains unclear to what extent those complex skills, such as braille reading, can be learnt by sighted subjects. Here we enrolled twenty-nine sighted adults, mostly braille teachers and educators, in a 9-month braille reading course. At the beginning of the course, all subjects were naive in tactile braille reading. After the course, almost all were able to read whole braille words at a mean speed of 6 words-per-minute. Subjects with low tactile acuity did not differ significantly in braille reading speed from the rest of the group, indicating that low tactile acuity is not a limiting factor for learning braille, at least at this early stage of learning. Our study shows that most sighted adults can learn whole-word braille reading, given the right method and a considerable amount of motivation. The adult sensorimotor system can thus adapt, to some level, to very complex tactile tasks without visual deprivation. The pace of learning in our group was comparable to congenitally and early blind children learning braille in primary school, which suggests that the blind’s mastery of complex tactile tasks can, to a large extent, be explained by experience-dependent mechanisms. PMID:27187496

  4. Interword Spacing and Landing Position Effects during Chinese Reading in Children and Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zang, Chuanli; Liang, Feifei; Bai, Xuejun; Yan, Guoli; Liversedge, Simon P.

    2013-01-01

    The present study examined children and adults' eye movement behavior when reading word spaced and unspaced Chinese text. The results showed that interword spacing reduced children and adults' first pass reading times and refixation probabilities indicating spaces between words facilitated word identification. Word spacing effects occurred to a…

  5. Brain-based individual difference measures of reading skill in deaf and hearing adults.

    PubMed

    Mehravari, Alison S; Emmorey, Karen; Prat, Chantel S; Klarman, Lindsay; Osterhout, Lee

    2017-07-01

    Most deaf children and adults struggle to read, but some deaf individuals do become highly proficient readers. There is disagreement about the specific causes of reading difficulty in the deaf population, and consequently, disagreement about the effectiveness of different strategies for teaching reading to deaf children. Much of the disagreement surrounds the question of whether deaf children read in similar or different ways as hearing children. In this study, we begin to answer this question by using real-time measures of neural language processing to assess if deaf and hearing adults read proficiently in similar or different ways. Hearing and deaf adults read English sentences with semantic, grammatical, and simultaneous semantic/grammatical errors while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. The magnitude of individuals' ERP responses was compared to their standardized reading comprehension test scores, and potentially confounding variables like years of education, speechreading skill, and language background of deaf participants were controlled for. The best deaf readers had the largest N400 responses to semantic errors in sentences, while the best hearing readers had the largest P600 responses to grammatical errors in sentences. These results indicate that equally proficient hearing and deaf adults process written language in different ways, suggesting there is little reason to assume that literacy education should necessarily be the same for hearing and deaf children. The results also show that the most successful deaf readers focus on semantic information while reading, which suggests aspects of education that may promote improved literacy in the deaf population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Adult age differences in the perceptual span during reading.

    PubMed

    Risse, Sarah; Kliegl, Reinhold

    2011-06-01

    Following up on research suggesting an age-related reduction in the rightward extent of the perceptual span during reading (Rayner, Castelhano, & Yang, 2009), we compared old and young adults in an N + 2-boundary paradigm in which a nonword preview of word N + 2 or word N + 2 itself is replaced by the target word once the eyes cross an invisible boundary located after word N. The intermediate word N + 1 was always three letters long. Gaze durations on word N + 2 were significantly shorter for identical than nonword N + 2 preview both for young and for old adults, with no significant difference in this preview benefit. Young adults, however, did modulate their gaze duration on word N more strongly than old adults in response to the difficulty of the parafoveal word N + 1. Taken together, the results suggest a dissociation of preview benefit and parafoveal-on-foveal effect. Results are discussed in terms of age-related decline in resilience towards distributed processing while simultaneously preserving the ability to integrate parafoveal information into foveal processing. As such, the present results relate to proposals of regulatory compensation strategies older adults use to secure an overall reading speed very similar to that of young adults. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Reading Newspapers: The Practices of America's Young Adults. A Summary.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirsch, Irwin S.; And Others

    Using the data base provided by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) through its literacy assessment of young adults, researchers probed the newspaper reading practices of 21-25 year olds. The 1985 survey used home interviews of 3,600 young adults in the 48 contiguous states, representative of the 21 million adults in this age…

  8. An evaluation of reading comprehension of expository text in adults with traumatic brain injury.

    PubMed

    Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Griffiths, Gina G; Fickas, Stephen

    2014-05-01

    This project was conducted to obtain information about reading problems of adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments and to investigate how these readers respond to reading comprehension strategy prompts integrated into digital versions of text. Participants from 2 groups, adults with TBI (n = 15) and matched controls (n = 15), read 4 different 500-word expository science passages linked to either a strategy prompt condition or a no-strategy prompt condition. The participants' reading comprehension was evaluated using sentence verification and free recall tasks. The TBI and control groups exhibited significant differences on 2 of the 5 reading comprehension measures: paraphrase statements on a sentence verification task and communication units on a free recall task. Unexpected group differences were noted on the participants' prerequisite reading skills. For the within-group comparison, participants showed significantly higher reading comprehension scores on 2 free recall measures: words per communication unit and type-token ratio. There were no significant interactions. The results help to elucidate the nature of reading comprehension in adults with TBI with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments and endorse further evaluation of reading comprehension strategies as a potential intervention option for these individuals. Future research is needed to better understand how individual differences influence a person's reading and response to intervention.

  9. Reading Fluency as an Indicator of Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basaran, Mustafa

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the relationship between fourth grade primary school students' reading habits/conditions/ situations and their comprehension regarding what they read. For this purpose, a correlational survey method was used in the study. 90 fourth-grade students who were attending a state primary school in the center of Ku¨tahya participated…

  10. Perceptual organization, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension in adults with and without learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Stothers, Margot; Klein, Perry D

    2010-12-01

    It is not clear from research whether, or to what extent, reading comprehension is impaired in adults who have learning disabilities (LD). The influence of perceptual organization (PO) and phonological awareness (PA) on reading comprehension was investigated. PO and PA are cognitive functions that have been examined in previous research for their roles in nonverbal LD and phonological dyslexia, respectively. Nonverbal tests of PO and non-reading tests of PA were administered to a sample of adults with postsecondary education. Approximately two thirds of the sample had previously been diagnosed as having LD. In a multiple regression analysis, tests of PO and PA were used to predict scores for tests of reading comprehension and mechanics. Despite the nonverbal nature of the perceptual organizational test stimuli, PO strongly predicted reading comprehension. Tests of PA predicted decoding and reading speed. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that integrative processes usually characterized as nonverbal were nonetheless used by readers with and without disabilities to understand text. The study's findings have implications for understanding the reading of adults with learning disabilities, and the nature of reading comprehension in general.

  11. Mind-Reading in Young Adults with ASD: Does Structure Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ponnet, Koen; Buysse, Ann; Roeyers, Herbert; De Clercq, Armand

    2008-01-01

    This study further elaborates on the mind-reading impairments of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The hypothesis is that differences in mind-reading abilities between subjects with ASD and control subjects become more apparent when they have to infer thoughts and feelings of other persons in a less structured or more chaotic…

  12. The Relationship between Expressive Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Skills for Adult Struggling Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Ryan; Greenberg, Daphne; Laures-Gore, Jacqueline; Pae, Hye K.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined expressive vocabulary and its relationship to reading skills for 232 native English-speaking adults who read between the third- and fifth-grade levels. The Boston Naming Test (BNT) was used to measure expressive vocabulary. Participants scored lower than the normative sample of adults on all aspects of the test; they had fewer…

  13. Association of Healthy Habits Beliefs and Mortality in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study.

    PubMed

    Fernandez-Villa, Julio M; Marquez, David X; Sanchez-Garrido, Natalia; Perez-Zepeda, Mario U; Gonzalez-Lara, Mariana

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this article is to establish the association between beliefs about healthy habits and mortality in a group of Mexican older adults. This is an 11-year follow-up secondary analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study. There was a significant difference ( p < .001) in survival rate between those participants who believed that healthy habits have the potential to improve health compared with those who did not. After adjustment for confounders, Cox regression models showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.17 (95% confidence interval [CI] [0.07, 0.38], p < .001) for the group that believed in healthy habits. Although the mechanism is not completely clear, according to our results, believing that healthy habits can improve health was associated with lower rates of mortality. Further research should elucidate potential strategies for changing beliefs in older adults with the goal of improving their overall health.

  14. How Do Adults Learn to Read? A Communities of Practice Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Negassa, Tolera; Rogers, Alan; Warkineh, Turuwark Zalalam

    2016-01-01

    This article explores whether looking at adult literacy teaching through the lens of Lave and Wenger's "community of practice" approach to learning provides useful additional insights into adults learning to read, especially the role of the adult literacy facilitator. Using some case studies of facilitators from the Ethiopian Integrated…

  15. Global Processing Speed in Children With Low Reading Ability and in Children and Adults With Typical Reading Ability: Exploratory Factor Analytic Models

    PubMed Central

    Peter, Beate; Matsushita, Mark; Raskind, Wendy H.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose To investigate processing speed as a latent dimension in children with dyslexia and children and adults with typical reading skills. Method Exploratory factor analysis (FA) was based on a sample of multigenerational families, each ascertained through a child with dyslexia. Eleven measures—6 of them timed—represented verbal and nonverbal processes, alphabet writing, and motor sequencing in the hand and oral motor system. FA was conducted in 4 cohorts (all children, a subset of children with low reading scores, a subset of children with typical reading scores, and adults with typical reading scores; total N = 829). Results Processing speed formed the first factor in all cohorts. Both measures of motor sequencing speed loaded on the speed factor with the other timed variables. Children with poor reading scores showed lower speed factor scores than did typical peers. The speed factor was negatively correlated with age in the adults. Conclusions The speed dimension was observed independently of participant cohort, gender, and reading ability. Results are consistent with a unified theory of processing speed as a quadratic function of age in typical development and with slowed processing in poor readers. PMID:21081672

  16. Meaningful Reading Gains by Adult Literacy Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scarborough, Hollis S.; Sabatini, John P.; Shore, Jane; Cutting, Laurie E.; Pugh, Kenneth; Katz, Leonard

    2013-01-01

    To obtain a fuller picture of the efficacy of reading instruction programs for adult literacy learners, gains by individual students were examined in a sample (n = 148) in which weak to moderate gains at the group level had been obtained in response to tutoring interventions that focused on strengthening basic decoding and fluency skills of low…

  17. Reading and the Aged: A Statement of the Problem.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kingston, Albert J., Jr.

    A review of studies concerning the reading habits of people 65 years old or older shows that females spend more time reading then do males; senior citizens do not suddenly develop new or extensive reading habits; they prefer light romance with no sex, biographies, westerns, and mysteries; intellectual and physical disabilities are not major…

  18. An Investigation into the Lifestyle, Health Habits and Risk Factors of Young Adults

    PubMed Central

    Al-Nakeeb, Yahya; Lyons, Mark; Dodd, Lorna J.; Al-Nuaim, Anwar

    2015-01-01

    This project examined the lifestyle, health habits and risk factors of young adults at Qatar University. It explored the clustering and differences in dietary habits, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) amongst male and female students, both Qatari and non-Qatari. Seven hundred thirty two students aged 18–25 years completed a self-reported questionnaire and an objective measure of BMI. Males and females had a high prevalence of being overweight and obesity and low levels of PA, according to well-established international standards. Three clusters were identified based on the students’ lifestyle and dietary habits. Cluster 1 (high risk factors) included those who engaged the least in healthy dietary practices and consumed the most unhealthy foods, participated in less PA and had the highest BMI. Cluster 2 (moderate risk factors) included those with considerably more habits falling into the moderate category, engagement in the most PA, the least TV and computer viewing time and had the lowest BMI. Cluster 3 (low risk factors) included those who engaged the most with the four healthy dietary practices, the least with the four unhealthy dietary practices and participated in moderate PA per week. This project provides valuable data that could be used by policy makers to address issues concerning student’s health. PMID:25913183

  19. Reading on Paper and Screen among Senior Adults: Cognitive Map and Technophobia

    PubMed Central

    Hou, Jinghui; Wu, Yijie; Harrell, Erin

    2017-01-01

    While the senior population has been increasingly engaged with reading on mobile technologies, research that specifically documents the impact of technologies on reading for this age group has still been lacking. The present study investigated how different reading media (screen versus paper) might result in different reading outcomes among older adults due to both cognitive and psychological factors. Using a laboratory experiment with 81participants aged 57 to 85, our results supported past research and showed the influence of cognitive map formation on readers’ feelings of fatigue. We contributed empirical evidence to the contention that reading on a screen could match that of reading from paper if the presentation of the text on screen resemble that of the print. Our findings also suggested that individual levels of technophobia was an important barrier to older adults’ effective use of mobile technologies for reading. In the post hoc analyses, we further showed that technophobia was correlated with technology experience, certain personality traits, and age. The present study highlights the importance of providing tailored support that helps older adults overcome psychological obstacles in using technologies. PMID:29312073

  20. A Grounded Theory of Effective Reading by Profoundly Deaf Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silvestri, Julia; Wang, Ye

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to uncover and describe psycholinguistic and sociocognitive factors facilitating effective reading by signing adults who are profoundly deaf and do not use hearing technology. The sample comprised four groups, each consisting of 15 adults, for a total of 60 participants. The four groups were "deaf…

  1. Reading Difficulties in Adult Deaf Readers of French: Phonological Codes, Not Guilty!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Belanger, Nathalie N.; Baum, Shari R.; Mayberry, Rachel I.

    2012-01-01

    Deaf people often achieve low levels of reading skills. The hypothesis that the use of phonological codes is associated with good reading skills in deaf readers is not yet fully supported in the literature. We investigated skilled and less skilled adult deaf readers' use of orthographic and phonological codes in reading. Experiment 1 used a masked…

  2. Speed discrimination predicts word but not pseudo-word reading rate in adults and children

    PubMed Central

    Main, Keith L.; Pestilli, Franco; Mezer, Aviv; Yeatman, Jason; Martin, Ryan; Phipps, Stephanie; Wandell, Brian

    2014-01-01

    Word familiarity may affect magnocellular processes of word recognition. To explore this idea, we measured reading rate, speed-discrimination, and contrast detection thresholds in adults and children with a wide range of reading abilities. We found that speed-discrimination thresholds are higher in children than in adults and are correlated with age. Speed discrimination thresholds are also correlated with reading rate, but only for words, not for pseudo-words. Conversely, we found no correlation between contrast sensitivity and reading rate and no correlation between speed discrimination thresholds WASI subtest scores. These findings support the position that reading rate is influenced by magnocellular circuitry attuned to the recognition of familiar word-forms. PMID:25278418

  3. Training Adult ESL Learners in Metacognitive Reading Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Jiuhan; Nisbet, Deanna

    2012-01-01

    This article is written as a practical guide to aid teachers in metacognitive reading strategy instruction. The nature of metacognitive strategies is explored, followed by specific procedures for implementing effective metacognitive strategy instruction in the adult ESL classroom. Chamot and O'Malley's (1994) five-phase strategy instruction…

  4. Disparate Reading Identities of Adult Students in One GED Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Compton-Lilly, Catherine

    2009-01-01

    Identities are constructed throughout people's lives. In this paper, I explored the emerging reading identities of 10 adults who were pursuing GED (General Educational Development) credentials. While part of a much larger study that included many data sources, this paper draws on interview data to examine how one group of adults positioned…

  5. Research-Based Reading Instruction in an Adult Basic Education Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perin, Dolores; Greenberg, Daphne

    2007-01-01

    There is a growing emphasis in adult basic education on research-based reading instruction. Using Kruidenier's (2002) framework of principles and trends, we describe research-based techniques found during a visit to an adult basic education program. We also describe how the program moved to research-based instruction, and the factors that seem…

  6. Development and validation of an assessment of adult educators' reading instructional knowledge.

    PubMed

    Bell, Sherry Mee; McCallum, R Steve; Ziegler, Mary; Davis, C A; Coleman, Maribeth

    2013-10-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe briefly the development and utility of the Assessment of Reading Instructional Knowledge-Adults (ARIK-A), the only nationally normed (n = 468) measure of adult reading instructional knowledge, created to facilitate professional development of adult educators. Developmental data reveal reliabilities ranging from 0.73 to 0.85 for five ARIK-A scales (alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and assessment) and 0.91 for the composite score; factor analytic data and expert review provide support for construct validity as well. Information on how to use the ARIK-A to determine mastery and relative standing is presented. With two alternate forms, the ARIK-A is a promising and needed tool for adult education practitioners within continuing education and professional development contexts.

  7. Adults with mild intellectual disabilities: can their reading comprehension ability be improved?

    PubMed

    van den Bos, K P; Nakken, H; Nicolay, P G; van Houten, E J

    2007-11-01

    Adults with a mild intellectual disability (ID) often show poor decoding and reading comprehension skills. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of teaching text comprehension strategies to these adults. Specific research goals were to determine (1) the effects of two instruction conditions, i.e. strategy instruction to individuals and strategy instruction in small groups in a reciprocal teaching context; (2) intervention programme effects on specific strategy tests (so-called direct effects), and possible differences between strategies; (3) (long-term) transfer effects of the programme on general reading comprehension ability; and (4) the regression of general text comprehension by the variables of technical reading, IQ, reading comprehension of sentences (RCS), and pretest and posttest scores on the strategies taught. In total, 38 adults (age range 20-72 years; mean age of 36 years) with ID participated in the study. IQs ranged from 45 to 69 with a mean IQ of 58. The intervention programme involved 15 weekly lessons of 1 h each, taught during 3 months. Blocks of lessons included each of Brown and Palincsar's strategies of summarizing, questioning, clarifying and predicting, as participants read and studied narrative and expository texts. Results indicated no significant difference between group and individual instruction conditions. Second, direct programme effects - as determined by posttest-pretest contrasts for strategy tests - were substantial, except for the questioning strategy. Third, even more substantial was the transfer effect to general text comprehension. Moreover, the results on this test were well maintained at a follow-up test. Finally, the variance of general reading comprehension ability was best explained by the test of RCS, and only moderately by the strategies trained. The presently used intervention programme provides a good starting point for adults with ID to become better readers.

  8. Selected Factors in Reading Comprehension for Deaf and Hearing Adults: Phonological Skills and Metacognition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Ye; Silvestri, Julia A.; Jahromi, Laudan B.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to identify factors related to reading comprehension, and to compare similarities and differences in the reading processes of deaf and hearing adults. The sample included four groups, each consisting of 15 adults. The groups were identified as (a) deaf high-achieving readers, (b) deaf low-achieving readers, (c) hearing…

  9. N170 Visual Word Specialization on Implicit and Explicit Reading Tasks in Spanish Speaking Adult Neoliterates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanchez, Laura V.

    2014-01-01

    Adult literacy training is known to be difficult in terms of teaching and maintenance (Abadzi, 2003), perhaps because adults who recently learned to read in their first language have not acquired reading automaticity. This study examines fast word recognition process in neoliterate adults, to evaluate whether they show evidence of perceptual…

  10. Word Reading and Word Spelling in French Adult Literacy Students: The Relationship with Oral Language Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eme, Elsa; Lambert, Eric; Alamargot, Denis

    2014-01-01

    We analysed word reading and spelling in French adults with low levels of literacy (A-IL). As well as examining phonological and lexical processes, we explored the relationship between literacy and oral language skills. Fifty-two adult literacy students were compared with reading level-matched pupils in Years 1-3 of primary school on reading tasks…

  11. Evaluation of a Reading Comprehension Strategy Package to Improve Reading Comprehension of Adult College Students with Acquired Brain Injuries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffiths, Gina G.

    2013-01-01

    Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI.…

  12. On Your Own: Older Adults' Food Choice and Dietary Habits.

    PubMed

    Whitelock, Emily; Ensaff, Hannah

    2018-03-27

    The United Kingdom, in common with many countries, has an ageing demographic. Changes accompanying ageing can influence food choice and dietary habits. This study explored older adults' perceptions and practices related to dietary behaviour and the factors influencing their food choice in later life. Semi-structured focus-group discussions were conducted with 30 individuals (aged 63-90 years) in a UK city. An inductive thematic approach was adopted for data analysis, and 4 themes and 12 sub-themes emerged: age-related changes (lower appetite, food changes, declining physical function); food access (food cost, support with food, maintaining independence); on your own (cooking for one, eating alone, shopping for one); and relationship with food (food variety, eating what you want, dieting). These influenced participants' food acquisition, food preparation and cooking, as well as eating habits. Living alone and its substantial influence, as well as associated social isolation and loneliness, were highlighted in many of the discussions. Given the possible implications for nutritional intake, further work is recommended in this area. Likewise, steps should be taken to improve food access, increase opportunities for commensal eating and, fundamentally, address social isolation and loneliness in the older population.

  13. Lessons from Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children for Adult Learning and Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snow, Catherine E.; Strucker, John

    1999-01-01

    In the spring of 1998 the National Research Council released a report, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children for Adult Learning and Literacy (PRD). PRD was written with the goal of contributing to the prevention of reading difficulties by documenting the contributions of research to an understanding of reading development and the…

  14. An analysis of the reading strategies used by adult and student deaf readers.

    PubMed

    Banner, Alyssa; Wang, Ye

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify and examine effective reading strategies used by adult deaf readers compared with student deaf readers. There were a total of 11 participants: 5 deaf adults ranging from 27 to 36 years and 6 deaf students ranging from 16 to 20 years. Assessment methods included interview and think-aloud procedures in which individuals were interrupted 3 times during the reading of a text to answer questions about their internal cognitive processes. It was found that both student and adult groups had highly skilled readers who demonstrated higher level reading strategies and less skilled readers who demonstrated lower level strategies, and only the highest skilled reader demonstrated both breadth and depth of strategies in all three categories: "constructing meaning," "monitoring and improving comprehension," and "evaluating comprehension." The study contributes evidence toward two identified gaps in the existing body of research: (a) the lack of investigation into the reading strategies utilized by deaf readers in text comprehension and (b) the overemphasis of most research on studying less skilled deaf readers while overlooking highly proficient deaf readers.

  15. Influence of mealtime habits on the risk of weight gain and obesity in Mexican adults.

    PubMed

    Dosamantes-Carrasco, Libia Darina; Méndez-Hernández, Pablo; Flores, Yvonne N; Siani, Carole; Denova-Gutiérrez, Edgar; Gallegos-Carrillo, Katia; Ramírez, Paula; Rivera-Paredez, Berenice; Salazar-Martínez, Eduardo; Salmerón, Jorge

    2017-02-01

    To prospectively examine the extent to which mealtime habits influences the risk of weight gain and obesity in Mexican adults. We performed a prospective cohort study. The Mealtime Habits Quality (MHQ) scale was used for assessing participants' MHQ; the outcomes of interest were gain ≥5 % of body weight, developing overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity, after 7 years of follow-up. In order to estimate the independent effect of MHQ on anthropometric indicators, generalized linear models were computed to obtain adjusted relative risks (95 % CI). The state of Morelos, Mexico. Mexican adults (n 837) aged 18-70 years participating in a cohort study. Compared with participants classified in the higher MHQ category, individuals in the middle and lower MHQ groups had a 4·1 (2·5, 6·7) and 6·2 (3·9, 9·7) fold greater risk of gain ≥5 % of body weight, respectively; 6·6 (2·8, 15·5) and 8·6 (3·7, 19·8) fold greater risk of becoming overweight/obese, respectively; and 3·8 (2·0, 7·3) and 5·3 (2·8, 9·8) fold greater risk of developing abdominal obesity, respectively. This study provides evidence about the influence of a set of mealtime habits on obesity indicators, showing that greater adherence to unadvisable mealtime habits increases the risk of developing unhealthy anthropometric indicators. Since the meal is one of the most important sources of food intake, and consequently weight status, the MHQ scale can be a useful population tool to predict weight gain and obesity.

  16. A Guide for Organizing a Volunteer Adult Reading Program (VARP). Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guthrie, Chuck

    This guide provides materials to help adult educators in organizing and developing volunteer literacy programs for the functionally illiterate adult. Introductory materials include a brief history of the Volunteer Adult Reading Program (VARP) and the philosophy and rationale of the program. A list of questions and answers follows that are intended…

  17. Selected Factors in Reading Comprehension for Deaf and Hearing Adults: Phonological Skills and Metacognition.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ye; Silvestri, Julia A; Jahromi, Laudan B

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to identify factors related to reading comprehension, and to compare similarities and differences in the reading processes of deaf and hearing adults. The sample included four groups, each consisting of 15 adults. The groups were identified as (a) deaf high-achieving readers, (b) deaf low-achieving readers, (c) hearing high-achieving readers, and (d) hearing low-achieving readers. Measurement instruments included a demographic form along with assessments of reading comprehension, phonological skills, and metacognition, the latter of which contained both a making-inferences measure and a think-aloud discussion with a reading strategies checklist. Results indicated that deaf high-achieving readers performed similarly to hearing high-achieving readers, except for phonological skills, and that for all participants, phonological skills and metacognition were related to reading comprehension skills.

  18. Does testing with feedback improve adult spelling skills relative to copying and reading?

    PubMed

    Pan, Steven C; Rubin, Benjamin R; Rickard, Timothy C

    2015-12-01

    We examined testing's ability to enhance adult spelling acquisition, relative to copying and reading. Across 3 experiments in which testing with feedback was compared with copying, the spelling improvement after testing matched that following the same amount of time spent copying. A potent testing advantage, however, was observed for spelling words free-recalled. In the fourth experiment, a large testing advantage for both word free recall and spelling was observed, versus reading. Subjects also generally preferred testing and rated it as more effective than copying or reading. The equivalent performance of testing and copying for spelling contrasts with prior work involving children and suggests that retrieval practice may not be the only effective mechanism for spelling skill acquisition. Rather, we suggest that the critical learning event for spelling is focused study on phoneme-to-grapheme mappings for previously unlearned letter sequences. For adults with extensive spelling expertise, focused study is more automatic during both copying and testing with feedback than for individuals with beginning spelling skills. Reading, however, would not be expected to produce efficient focused study of phoneme-to-grapheme mappings, regardless of expertise level. Overall, adult spelling skill acquisition benefits both from testing and copying, and substantially less from reading. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Volunteer Adult Basic Reading Tutorial Program: Final Special Demonstration Project Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Literacy Volunteers, Inc., Syracuse, NY.

    A demonstration project established eight self-supporting, volunteer-staffed adult basic reading tutorial programs in Connecticut, seven in Massachusetts, and one in central New York city. Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) tutors also helped adult basic education students, tutored inmates and trained inmate tutors in correctional institutions,…

  20. Smoking habits and obesity in young adults.

    PubMed

    Zimlichman, Eyal; Kochba, Ilan; Mimouni, Francis B; Shochat, Tzippora; Grotto, Itamar; Kreiss, Yitshak; Mandel, Dror

    2005-07-01

    The aim of this work was to study the association between obesity and smoking habits in young adults. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that obesity does not prevent young adults from smoking and conversely smoking does not protect against obesity. Trained nurses interviewed participants concerning demographic data and health behaviors such as smoking. At the time of the interview, weight and height were measured. Data were analyzed retrospectively. A representative sample of Israel Defense Force (IDF) personnel upon discharge from compulsory service, usually at the age of 20-21 years. Overall, 29 745 participants were included during the 13-year study (16,363 males and 13,382 females). Smoking rates were higher among obese participants than among overweight and non-obese participants (34.9%, 37.1%, 43.6% for non-obese, overweight and obese, respectively; P < 0.001). Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day were also higher among smokers that were obese and overweight compared to the non-obese (15.2 +/- 9.2, 15.6 +/- 10.7, 18.0 +/- 9.8, respectively; P < 0.001). Overweight and obesity were associated with the father's lower academic educational level. In logistic regression analysis, obesity, year of study and parental academic education were correlated independently with smoking (P < 0.001). The positive association between obesity and smoking suggests that obesity is not a deterrent to smoking and also that smoking does not help to prevent obesity.

  1. Adult Basic Education Reading Institute, June 8, 1970-June 7, 1971. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arizona State Univ., Tempe.

    The document traces the activities of the five-week summer institute which provided training for 96 teachers, primarily of migrant and disadvantaged adults in Adult Basic Education. The program activities emphasized: (1) Reading instruction for disadvantaged adults; (2) English as a second language; (3) Motivation and retention of adult learners;…

  2. A Comparison of Children's Ability to Read Children's and Adults' Mental States in an Adaptation of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task

    PubMed Central

    van der Meulen, Anna; Roerig, Simone; de Ruyter, Doret; van Lier, Pol; Krabbendam, Lydia

    2017-01-01

    The ability to read mental states from subtle facial cues is an important part of Theory of Mind, which can contribute to children's daily life social functioning. Mental state reading performance is influenced by the specific interactions in which it is applied; familiarity with characteristics of these interactions (such as the person) can enhance performance. The aim of this research is to gain insight in this context effect for mental state reading in children, assessed with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) task that originally consists of pictures of adults' eyes. Because of differences between children and adults in roles, development and frequency of interaction, children are more familiar with mental state reading of other children. It can therefore be expected that children's mental state reading depends on whether this is assessed with children's or adults' eyes. A new 14 item version of the RME for children was constructed with pictures of children instead of adults (study 1). This task was used and compared to the original child RME in 6–10 year olds (N = 718, study 2) and 8–14 year olds (N = 182, study 3). Children in both groups performed better on the new RME than on the original RME. Item level findings of the new RME were in line with previous findings on the task and test re-test reliability (in a subgroup of older children, n = 95) was adequate (0.47). This suggests that the RME with children's eyes can assess children's daily life mental state reading and supplement existing ToM tasks. PMID:28491043

  3. Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems Braille Reading Assessment: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Posey, Virginia K.; Henderson, Barbara W.

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: This exploratory study determined whether transcribing selected test items on an adult life and work skills reading test into braille could maintain the same approximate scale-score range and maintain fitness within the item response theory model as used by the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) for developing…

  4. Neural Mechanisms of Reading Facial Emotions in Young and Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Ebner, Natalie C.; Johnson, Marcia K.; Fischer, Håkan

    2012-01-01

    The ability to read and appropriately respond to emotions in others is central for successful social interaction. Young and older adults are better at identifying positive than negative facial expressions and also expressions of young than older faces. Little, however, is known about the neural processes associated with reading different emotions, particularly in faces of different ages, in samples of young and older adults. During fMRI, young and older participants identified expressions in happy, neutral, and angry young and older faces. The results suggest a functional dissociation of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in reading facial emotions that is largely comparable in young and older adults: Both age groups showed greater vmPFC activity to happy compared to angry or neutral faces, which was positively correlated with expression identification for happy compared to angry faces. In contrast, both age groups showed greater activity in dmPFC to neutral or angry than happy faces which was negatively correlated with expression identification for neutral compared to happy faces. A similar region of dmPFC showed greater activity for older than young faces, but no brain-behavior correlations. Greater vmPFC activity in the present study may reflect greater affective processing involved in reading happy compared to neutral or angry faces. Greater dmPFC activity may reflect more cognitive control involved in decoding and/or regulating negative emotions associated with neutral or angry than happy, and older than young, faces. PMID:22798953

  5. Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Assessment for Dyslexia in Adolescents and Young Adults

    PubMed Central

    Nielsen, Kathleen; Abbott, Robert; Griffin, Whitney; Lott, Joe; Raskind, Wendy; Berninger, Virginia W.

    2016-01-01

    The same working memory and reading and writing achievement phenotypes (behavioral markers of genetic variants) validated in prior research with younger children and older adults in a multi-generational family genetics study of dyslexia were used to study 81 adolescent and young adults (ages 16 to 25) from that study. Dyslexia is impaired word reading and spelling skills below the population mean and ability to use oral language to express thinking. These working memory predictor measures were given and used to predict reading and writing achievement: Coding (storing and processing) heard and spoken words (phonological coding), read and written words (orthographic coding), base words and affixes (morphological coding), and accumulating words over time (syntax coding); Cross-Code Integration (phonological loop for linking phonological name and orthographic letter codes and orthographic loop for linking orthographic letter codes and finger sequencing codes), and Supervisory Attention (focused and switching attention and self-monitoring during written word finding). Multiple regressions showed that most predictors explained individual difference in at least one reading or writing outcome, but which predictors explained unique variance beyond shared variance depended on outcome. ANOVAs confirmed that research-supported criteria for dyslexia validated for younger children and their parents could be used to diagnose which adolescents and young adults did (n=31) or did not (n=50) meet research criteria for dyslexia. Findings are discussed in reference to the heterogeneity of phenotypes (behavioral markers of genetic variables) and their application to assessment for accommodations and ongoing instruction for adolescents and young adults with dyslexia. PMID:26855554

  6. Camp Verde Adult Reading Program. Final Performance Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maynard, David A.

    This document begins with a four-page performance report describing how the Camp Verde Adult Reading Program site was relocated to the Community Center Complex, and the Town Council contracted directly with the Friends of the Camp Verde Library to provide for the requirements of the program. The U.S. Department of Education grant allowed the…

  7. Read Hard, Play Later: Putting Summer Reading into Action.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wemett, Lisa C.; Bolan, Kimberly

    1998-01-01

    Provides an overview of "Read on the Wild Side," a summer reading program for young adults established by the Webster (New York) Public Library, and "Read Hard, Play Later," a young adult summer reading program of the Pioneer Library System (New York). Highlights include reading logs, T-shirts, publicity, program evaluation,…

  8. Associations between food consumption habits with meal intake behaviour in Spanish adults.

    PubMed

    Keller, Kristin; Rodríguez López, Santiago; Carmenate Moreno, M Margarita; Acevedo Cantero, Paula

    2014-12-01

    The aim of the present study is to explore the contribution of different types of meal intake behaviour on a healthy diet and seeks to find associations with food consumption habits. A cross-sectional survey with data from 1332 Spanish adults aged between 20 and 79 years was conducted. The survey was carried out during the cardiovascular health event 'Semanas del Corazon 2008' in four Spanish cities. Several food consumption habits such as the recommended intake of fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products, as well as the regular consumption of fatty and salty food and ready-made meals, were used as dependent variables in logistic regression. We evaluated different meal intake behaviour such as the type of meals, snacking, and drinks taken with a meal. Our survey revealed that snacking is positively associated with the regular consumption of salty and fatty food, and having sugary drinks with meals was positively associated with the regular consumption of ready-made meals. Having a forenoon meal is positively associated with the consumption of two or more portions of milk and dairy products and vegetables, and taking an afternoon meal with the recommended intake of milk and dairy products and fruits. Drinking water during a meal increases the probability of consuming two or more portions of fruits and vegetables. Our results enhance the understanding of the contribution that meal intake behaviour makes to a healthy diet based on food consumption habits. This work provides an insight into eating behaviour and would make a useful contribution to interventions aimed at promoting healthier eating habits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Subgroups of Adult Basic Education Learners with Different Profiles of Reading Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacArthur, Charles A.; Konold, Timothy R.; Glutting, Joseph J.; Alamprese, Judith A.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of adult basic education (ABE) learners with different profiles of skills in the core reading components of decoding, word recognition, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. The analysis uses factor scores of those 5 reading components from on a prior investigation of the reliability and…

  10. Understanding Oral Reading Fluency among Adults with Low Literacy: Dominance Analysis of Contributing Component Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mellard, Daryl F.; Anthony, Jason L.; Woods, Kari L.

    2012-01-01

    This study extends the literature on the component skills involved in oral reading fluency. Dominance analysis was applied to assess the relative importance of seven reading-related component skills in the prediction of the oral reading fluency of 272 adult literacy learners. The best predictors of oral reading fluency when text difficulty was…

  11. The Pleasures of Reading Non-Fiction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, Joy; Jarman, Ruth

    2018-01-01

    This article examines data gathered in a broader study of a school-based reading challenge to children aged from 8 to 14 to read science information books, centred in their school or class library. A survey was conducted before they embarked on the reading challenge to establish the children's reading habits. After the period of time allotted to…

  12. An fMRI study of nonverbally gifted reading disabled adults: has deficit compensation effected gifted potential?

    PubMed Central

    Gilger, Jeffrey W.; Talavage, Thomas M.; Olulade, Olumide A.

    2013-01-01

    Neuroscience has advanced our understanding of the neurological basis of reading disability (RD). Yet, no functional imaging work has been reported on the twice-exceptional dyslexic: individuals exhibiting both non-verbal-giftedness and RD. We compared groups of reading-disabled (RD), non-verbally-gifted (G), non-verbally-gifted-RD (GRD), and control (C) adults on validated word-rhyming and spatial visualization fMRI tasks, and standardized psychometric tests, to ascertain if the neurological functioning of GRD subjects was similar to that of typical RD or G subjects, or perhaps some unique RD subtype. Results demonstrate that GRD adults resemble non-gifted RD adults in performance on paper-and-pencil reading, math and spatial tests, and in patterns of functional activation during rhyming and spatial processing. Data are consistent with what may be a shared etiology of RD and giftedness in GRD individuals that yields a lifespan interaction with reading compensation effects, modifying how their adult brain processes text and spatial stimuli. PMID:24009572

  13. Word-Related N170 Responses to Implicit and Explicit Reading Tasks in Neoliterate Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sánchez-Vincitore, Laura V.; Avery, Trey; Froud, Karen

    2018-01-01

    The present study addresses word recognition automaticity in Spanish-speaking adults who are neoliterate by assessing the event-related potential N170 for word stimuli. Participants engaged in two reading conditions that vary the degree of attention required for linguistic components of reading: (a) an implicit reading task, in which they detected…

  14. Effects of word predictability and preview lexicality on eye movements during reading: A comparison between young and older adults.

    PubMed

    Choi, Wonil; Lowder, Matthew W; Ferreira, Fernanda; Swaab, Tamara Y; Henderson, John M

    2017-05-01

    Previous eye-tracking research has characterized older adults' reading patterns as "risky," arguing that compared to young adults, older adults skip more words, have longer saccades, and are more likely to regress to previous portions of the text. In the present eye-tracking study, we reexamined the claim that older adults adopt a risky reading strategy, utilizing the boundary paradigm to manipulate parafoveal preview and contextual predictability of a target word. Results showed that older adults had longer fixation durations compared to young adults; however, there were no age differences in skipping rates, saccade length, or proportion of regressions. In addition, readers showed higher skipping rates of the target word if the preview string was a word than if it was a nonword, regardless of age. Finally, the effect of predictability in reading times on the target word was larger for older adults than for young adults. These results suggest that older adults' reading strategies are not as risky as was previously claimed. Instead, we propose that older adults can effectively combine top-down information from the sentence context with bottom-up information from the parafovea to optimize their reading strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. The Effects of Metacognitive Reading Strategy Instruction on Reading Performance of Adult ESL Learners with Limited English and Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Jiuhuan; Newbern, Claudia

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on a study that examines the effects of metacognitive reading strategy instruction on reading performance of adult ESL learners with limited English and literacy skills. The strategy instruction was implemented over a period of four months with a group of 18 learners who were enrolled in a high beginning literacy course in an…

  16. Children and Adults Reading Interactively: The Social Benefits of an Exploratory Intergenerational Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isaki, Emi; Harmon, Mary Towle

    2015-01-01

    This exploratory Intergenerational Program (IGP) focused on reading to determine whether it affects mood and communication in older adults with mild dementia and neurocognitive deficits, and if it influences school-aged children's perceptions of older adults over time. Six older adults with cognitive-communication deficits and 12 school-aged…

  17. The Association between Taking Dietary Supplements and Healthy Habits among Korean Adults: Results from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2010-2012).

    PubMed

    Kim, Jin-Wook; Lee, So-Hye; Kim, Jung-Eun; Han, Kyung-Do; Kwack, Tae-Eung; Kim, Bo-Seon; Kim, Jeong-Eun; Jo, Eun-Bae; Park, Young-Kyu; Lee, Kyung-Shik

    2016-05-01

    Recently, the number of people interested in health in South Korea has increased, and the rate of dietary supplement use is rising. Researchers have hypothesized that the rate of practicing healthy habits is higher among those who use dietary supplements than those who do not. Therefore, this study aimed to discover the association between taking dietary supplements and practicing various healthy habits in the Korean, adult population. The sample included 15,789 adults over 19 years old who participated in the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The user group was defined as those taking dietary supplements for more than 2 weeks during the previous year or once during the past month. Measures for the seven healthy habits were based on those included in the Alameda study and were analyzed accounting for the complex sampling design. The rate of taking dietary supplements was significantly higher in women, middle aged participants, urban residents, those with a higher income, those with a higher education level, and nonsmokers as well as among women with a moderate subjective health status, women who limited their alcohol content, and women with dyslipidemia. In the adjusted analysis, the rate of performing three of the 'Alameda 7' habits-eating breakfast regularly, restricting snacking, and limiting drinking-was higher in the female dietary supplement user group than in the other groups. Women practiced more healthy habits and had a higher dietary supplement intake rate than men. We found that taking dietary supplements in Korean adults is highly associated with demographic and social factors. Taking dietary supplements had a relationship with dietary habits, and there was no significant association between dietary supplement and other healthy habits. Thus in the health clinic, we suggest that taking dietary supplements complements a patient's healthy habits, with the exception of dietary habits, for health promotion.

  18. [Adult Reading-Bilingual Laboratories and Learning Center, Huntsville, Texas.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Texas State Dept. of Corrections, Huntsville. Windham School District.

    This program, included in "Effective Reading Programs...," serves 1,221 inmates of nine prison units of the Texas Department of Corrections. Students in the program are black, Spanish-speaking, or non-Spanish-speaking white adults. Students are released from their assigned industrial jobs for three hours each week to attend the…

  19. Underlying Reading-Related Skills and Abilities among Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mellard, Daryl F.; Woods, Kari L.; Md Desa, Z. Deana; Vuyk, M. Alexandra

    2015-01-01

    This exploratory study identified underlying skill and ability differences among subgroups of adolescent and young adult struggling readers (N = 290) overall and in relation to a fluency-based instructional grouping method. We used principal axis factoring of participants' scores on 18 measures of reading-related skills and abilities identified in…

  20. Effects of an individualised nutritional education and support programme on dietary habits, nutritional knowledge and nutritional status of older adults living alone.

    PubMed

    Ahn, Jeong-Ah; Park, JeeWon; Kim, Chun-Ja

    2017-09-07

    The effects of an individualised nutritional education and support programme on dietary habits, nutritional knowledge and nutritional status of 71 older adults living alone were examined. Although a regular dietary meal plan is recommended for improving nutritional status of older adults living alone, little research is done in this field in Korea. A pre- and post-test controlled quasi-experimental design was used at public health centres. The intervention group participated in an intensive nutritional education and support programme once a week for 8 weeks with dietary menus provided by home visiting nurses/dieticians; control group received usual care. Dietary habits and nutritional knowledge were assessed using structured questionnaires; nutritional intake status was analysed using Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis Program 5.0. The mean age of participants was 77.6 years, and 81.7% of the participants were women. At 8 weeks, there were significant interactions of group by time for dietary habits, nutritional knowledge and selected nutritional status of protein, iron and vitamins of B 2 and C. Changes over time in the mean score of dietary habits and nutritional knowledge were significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the control group. The percentages of normal nutrition intake of protein, iron and vitamins A and C in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group at 8 weeks. Nutritional education and support programme positively impacted dietary habits, nutritional knowledge and selected nutritional status in older adults living alone, and we highlight the need for community-based nutritional education and counselling programmes. Older adults living alone in a community have relatively poor nutritional status and thus require tailored nutritional intervention according to objective nutritional analysis. It is necessary to link visiting nurses with dieticians in the community to manage effective nutritional

  1. Rescuing Reading at the Community College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Long, Thomas Lawrence

    2009-01-01

    Two national studies of Americans' changing reading habits, published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), quantified the grounds for concerns that college and university educators have expressed in recent years based on their own anecdotal evidence from observing students. "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in…

  2. Rekindle the Love of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isero, Mark

    2014-01-01

    This author describes a reading project using Kindles that was designed to increase the reading habits of 9th graders. With a selection of 500 titles for classroom usage, students were encouraged to read any book they chose--in addition to those required for their school term. Isero states that, in the past, many of his students would not risk…

  3. Individual Differences in Adult Reading Are Associated with Left Temporo-parietal to Dorsal Striatal Functional Connectivity

    PubMed Central

    Achal, Sanjay; Hoeft, Fumiko; Bray, Signe

    2016-01-01

    Reading skills vary widely in both children and adults, with a number of factors contributing to this variability. The most prominent factor may be related to efficiency of storage, representation, or retrieval of speech sounds. This phonological hypothesis is supported by findings of reduced activation in poor readers in left hemisphere ventro-lateral prefrontal and temporo-parietal phonological processing regions. Less well explained by phonological theories are reported hyperactivation in prefrontal, striatal, and insular regions. This study investigated functional connectivity of a core phonological processing region, the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), in relation to reading skill in an adult community sample. We hypothesized that connectivity between TPJ and regions implicated in meta-analyses of reading disorder would correlate with individual differences in reading. Forty-four adults aged 30–54, ranging in reading ability, underwent resting fMRI scans. Data-driven connectivity clustering was used to identify TPJ subregions for seed-based connectivity analyses. Correlations were assessed between TPJ connectivity and timed-pseudoword reading (decoding) ability. We found a significant correlation wherein greater left supramarginal gyrus to anterior caudate connectivity was associated with weaker decoding. This suggests that hyperactivation of the dorsal striatum, reported in poor readers during reading tasks, may reflect compensatory or inefficient overintegration into attention networks. PMID:26400921

  4. Does intrinsic motivation strengthen physical activity habit? Modeling relationships between self-determination, past behaviour, and habit strength.

    PubMed

    Gardner, Benjamin; Lally, Phillippa

    2013-10-01

    Habit formation is thought to aid maintenance of physical activity, but little research is available into determinants of habit strength aside from repeated performance. Previous work has shown that intrinsically motivated physical activity, underpinned by inherent satisfaction derived from activity, is more likely to be sustained. We explored whether this might reflect a tendency for self-determined activity to become more strongly habitual. A sample of 192 adults aged 18-30 completed measures of motivational regulation, intention, behaviour, and habit strength. Results showed that self-determined regulation interacted with past behaviour in predicting habit strength: prior action was more predictive of habit strength among more autonomously motivated participants. There was an unexpected direct effect of self-determined regulation on habit strength, independently of past behaviour. Findings offer possible directions for future habit formation work.

  5. Reading in the brain of children and adults: a meta-analysis of 40 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies.

    PubMed

    Martin, Anna; Schurz, Matthias; Kronbichler, Martin; Richlan, Fabio

    2015-05-01

    We used quantitative, coordinate-based meta-analysis to objectively synthesize age-related commonalities and differences in brain activation patterns reported in 40 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of reading in children and adults. Twenty fMRI studies with adults (age means: 23-34 years) were matched to 20 studies with children (age means: 7-12 years). The separate meta-analyses of these two sets showed a pattern of reading-related brain activation common to children and adults in left ventral occipito-temporal (OT), inferior frontal, and posterior parietal regions. The direct statistical comparison between the two meta-analytic maps of children and adults revealed higher convergence in studies with children in left superior temporal and bilateral supplementary motor regions. In contrast, higher convergence in studies with adults was identified in bilateral posterior OT/cerebellar and left dorsal precentral regions. The results are discussed in relation to current neuroanatomical models of reading and tentative functional interpretations of reading-related activation clusters in children and adults are provided. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Activating & Engaging Habits of Mind. A Developmental Series, Book 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Costa, Arthur L., Ed.; Kallick, Bena, Ed.

    This book is the second in a four-book series on habits of mind. It translates a habits of mind approach to education into action using classroom-tested advice. Contributions come from practitioners in literature, math, music, foreign language, reading, character education, and social science. After "Series Foreword: Thinking on the Road of…

  7. Word Reading Efficiency, Text Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension among Chinese Learners of English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jiang, Xiangying; Sawaki, Yasuyo; Sabatini, John

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language[TM] (TOEFL[R]) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a…

  8. The Predictive Impact of Biological and Sociocultural Factors on Executive Processing: The Role of Age, Education, and Frequency of Reading and Writing Habits.

    PubMed

    Cotrena, Charles; Branco, Laura D; Cardoso, Caroline O; Wong, Cristina Elizabeth I; Fonseca, Rochele P

    2016-01-01

    Although the impact of education and age on executive functions (EF) has been widely studied, the influence of daily cognitive stimulation on EF has not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the age, education, and frequency of reading and writing habits (FRWH) of healthy adults could predict their performance on measures of inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Inhibition speed, inhibitory control, and set shifting were assessed using speed, accuracy, and discrepancy scores on the Trail-Making Test (TMT) and Hayling Test. Demographic characteristics and the FRWH were assessed using specialized questionnaires. Regression analyses showed that age and the FRWH predicted speed and accuracy on the TMT. The FRWH predicted both speed and accuracy on the Hayling Test, for which speed and accuracy scores were also partly explained by age and education, respectively. Surprisingly, only the FRWH was associated with Hayling Test discrepancy scores, considered one of the purest EF measures. This highlights the importance of regular cognitive stimulation over the number of years of formal education on EF tasks. Further studies are required to investigate the role of the FRWH so as to better comprehend its relationship with EF and general cognition.

  9. The associations between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in European adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the SPOTLIGHT survey.

    PubMed

    Compernolle, Sofie; De Cocker, Katrien; Teixeira, Pedro J; Oppert, Jean-Michel; Roda, Célina; Mackenbach, Joreintje D; Lakerveld, Jeroen; McKee, Martin; Glonti, Ketevan; Rutter, Harry; Bardos, Helga; Cardon, Greet; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

    2016-10-06

    Sedentary behaviour has been associated with obesity and related chronic diseases. Disentangling the nature of this association is complicated due to interactions with other lifestyle factors, such as dietary habits, yet limited research has investigated the relation between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in adults. The aim of this paper was to examine the association between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in adults and to test the moderating effect of age and gender on this association. A total of 6,037 participants from five urban regions in Europe completed an online survey, of which 6,001 were included in the analyses. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were used to examine main associations and interaction effects. All domain-specific sedentary behaviours, except transport-related sitting time, were significantly related to dietary habits. In general, having a higher sitting time was related to having less healthy dietary habits, especially for television viewing. Gender did not moderate any of the relations, and age was only a significant moderator in the relation between other leisure sitting time and alcohol consumption. Domain-specific sitting behaviours were related to unhealthy dietary behaviours. However, the small effect sizes suggest that individual level behavioural interventions focusing on sedentary behaviour will not be sufficient to improve dietary habits. The fact that almost none of the associations were moderated by age or gender suggests that these associations, and possibly also the effects of interventions targeting both behaviours, may hold across age and gender groups.

  10. Low-Skilled Adult Readers Look Like Typically Developing Child Readers: A Comparison of Reading Skills and Eye Movement Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnes, Adrienne E.; Kim, Young-Suk

    2016-01-01

    Adults enrolled in basic education exhibit poor academic performance, often reading at elementary and middle-school levels. The current study investigated the similarities and differences of reading skills and eye movement behavior between a sample of 25 low-skilled adult readers and 25 first grade students matched on word reading skill. t tests…

  11. Keys to Reading among Middle School Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Nichole; Day, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    A recent decline in reading has become a major issue, as Americans are not reading out of necessity or as a leisure activity. In addition, a connection has been found between children's leisure reading habits and their level of academic achievement, causing even more concern. (Contains 1 table.)

  12. Nonword repetition and nonword reading abilities in adults who do and do not stutter.

    PubMed

    Sasisekaran, Jayanthi

    2013-09-01

    In the present study a nonword repetition and a nonword reading task were used to investigate the behavioral (speech accuracy) and speech kinematic (movement variability measured as lip aperture variability index; speech duration) profiles of groups of young adults who do (AWS) and do not stutter (control). Participants were 9 AWS (8 males, Mean age=32.2, SD=14.7) and 9 age- and sex-matched control participants (Mean age=31.8, SD=14.6). For the nonword repetition task, participants were administered the Nonword Repetition Test (Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998). For the reading task, participants were required to read out target nonwords varying in length (6 vs. 11 syllables). Repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted to compare the groups in percent speech accuracy for both tasks; only for the nonword reading task, the groups were compared in movement variability and speech duration. The groups were comparable in percent accuracy in nonword repetition. Findings from nonword reading revealed a trend for the AWS to show a lower percent of accurate productions compared to the control group. AWS also showed significantly higher movement variability and longer speech durations compared to the control group in nonword reading. Some preliminary evidence for group differences in practice effect (seen as differences between the early vs. later 5 trials) was evident in speech duration. Findings suggest differences between AWS and control groups in phonemic encoding and/or speech motor planning and production. Findings from nonword repetition vs. reading highlight the need for careful consideration of nonword properties. At the end of this activity the reader will be able to: (a) summarize the literature on nonword repetition skills in adults who stutter, (b) describe processes underlying nonword repetition and nonword reading, (c) summarize whether or not adults who stutter differ from those who do not in the behavioral and kinematic markers of nonword reading

  13. An Evaluation of Words in Color or Morphologico-Algebraic Approach to Teaching Reading to Functionally Illiterate Adults.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinds, Lillian R.

    Seventy Cleveland, Ohio, inner city adult illiterates, 33 from an experimental group and 37 from a contrast group, were studied to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of Words in Color or the Morphologico-Algebraic approach to teaching reading. Results indicated that the reading achievement gain of functionally illiterate adults taught by…

  14. Reading Ability and Reading Engagement in Older Adults With Glaucoma

    PubMed Central

    Nguyen, Angeline M.; van Landingham, Suzanne W.; Massof, Robert W.; Rubin, Gary S.; Ramulu, Pradeep Y.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose. We evaluated the impact of glaucoma-related vision loss on reading ability and reading engagement in 10 reading activities. Methods. A total of 63 glaucoma patients and 59 glaucoma suspect controls self-rated their level of reading difficulty for 10 reading items, and responses were analyzed using Rasch analysis to determine reading ability. Reading engagement was assessed by asking subjects to report the number of days per week they engaged in each reading activity. Reading restriction was determined as a decrement in engagement. Results. Glaucoma subjects more often described greater reading difficulty than controls for all tasks except puzzles (P < 0.05). The most difficult reading tasks involved puzzles, books, and finances, while the least difficult reading tasks involved notes, bills, and mail. In multivariable weighted least squares regression models of Rasch-estimated person measures of reading ability, less reading ability was found for glaucoma patients compared to controls (β = −1.60 logits, P < 0.001). Among glaucoma patients, less reading ability was associated with more severe visual field (VF) loss (β = −0.68 logits per 5-dB decrement in better-eye VF mean deviation [MD], P < 0.001) and contrast sensitivity (β = −0.76 logits per 0.1-unit lower log CS, P < 0.001). Each 5-dB decrement in the better-eye VF MD was associated with book reading on 18% fewer days (P = 0.003) and newspaper reading on 10% fewer days (P = 0.008). No statistically significant reading restriction was observed for other reading activities (P > 0.05). Conclusions. Glaucoma patients have less reading ability and engage less in a variety of different reading activities, particularly those requiring sustained reading. Future work should evaluate the mechanisms underlying reading disability in glaucoma to determine how patients can maintain reading ability and engagement. PMID:25052992

  15. Reading and Love: Encouraging Love of Reading at Home and School: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Reading (6th, Mangilao, Guam, January 18, 1986).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cotton, Eileen G., Ed.

    Representing the expertise of university education professors and public school teachers, the articles in these proceedings focus on encouraging reading and fostering lifelong reading habits. Titles of the papers and their authors are as follows: (1) "Television and Books: Friends or Foes" (Jeannetta H. Caplan); (2) "Encouraging the…

  16. Reading speed in the peripheral visual field of older adults: Does it benefit from perceptual learning?

    PubMed

    Yu, Deyue; Cheung, Sing-Hang; Legge, Gordon E; Chung, Susana T L

    2010-04-21

    Enhancing reading ability in peripheral vision is important for the rehabilitation of people with central-visual-field loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Previous research has shown that perceptual learning, based on a trigram letter-recognition task, improved peripheral reading speed among normally-sighted young adults (Chung, Legge, & Cheung, 2004). Here we ask whether the same happens in older adults in an age range more typical of the onset of AMD. Eighteen normally-sighted subjects, aged 55-76years, were randomly assigned to training or control groups. Visual-span profiles (plots of letter-recognition accuracy as a function of horizontal letter position) and RSVP reading speeds were measured at 10 degrees above and below fixation during pre- and post-tests for all subjects. Training consisted of repeated measurements of visual-span profiles at 10 degrees below fixation, in four daily sessions. The control subjects did not receive any training. Perceptual learning enlarged the visual spans in both trained (lower) and untrained (upper) visual fields. Reading speed improved in the trained field by 60% when the trained print size was used. The training benefits for these older subjects were weaker than the training benefits for young adults found by Chung et al. Despite the weaker training benefits, perceptual learning remains a potential option for low-vision reading rehabilitation among older adults. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Reading Can You Dig It: Resources for Adult New Readers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ossolinski, Lynn, Comp.

    The purpose of this bibliography is to advertise the availability of resources for adult literacy education in public libraries and reading centers throughout the state of Nevada. The literacy collections were developed in response to identified needs of students, tutors, and trainers involved in community literacy education programs. The…

  18. Reading Deeply for Disciplinary Awareness and Political Judgment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Staudinger, Alison

    2017-01-01

    What happens when students become better readers? Cultivating deep reading habits in students to help them navigate disciplinary cultures respects student autonomy. Scholarly literature predicts that three linked practices improve student reading: practice with feedback, explicit in-class work on reading strategies, and disciplinary norm…

  19. The Association between Taking Dietary Supplements and Healthy Habits among Korean Adults: Results from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2010–2012)

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Jin-Wook; Lee, So-Hye; Kim, Jung-Eun; Han, Kyung-Do; Kwack, Tae-Eung; Kim, Bo-Seon; Kim, Jeong-Eun; Jo, Eun-Bae; Park, Young-Kyu

    2016-01-01

    Background Recently, the number of people interested in health in South Korea has increased, and the rate of dietary supplement use is rising. Researchers have hypothesized that the rate of practicing healthy habits is higher among those who use dietary supplements than those who do not. Therefore, this study aimed to discover the association between taking dietary supplements and practicing various healthy habits in the Korean, adult population. Methods The sample included 15,789 adults over 19 years old who participated in the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The user group was defined as those taking dietary supplements for more than 2 weeks during the previous year or once during the past month. Measures for the seven healthy habits were based on those included in the Alameda study and were analyzed accounting for the complex sampling design. Results The rate of taking dietary supplements was significantly higher in women, middle aged participants, urban residents, those with a higher income, those with a higher education level, and nonsmokers as well as among women with a moderate subjective health status, women who limited their alcohol content, and women with dyslipidemia. In the adjusted analysis, the rate of performing three of the 'Alameda 7' habits—eating breakfast regularly, restricting snacking, and limiting drinking—was higher in the female dietary supplement user group than in the other groups. Women practiced more healthy habits and had a higher dietary supplement intake rate than men. Conclusion We found that taking dietary supplements in Korean adults is highly associated with demographic and social factors. Taking dietary supplements had a relationship with dietary habits, and there was no significant association between dietary supplement and other healthy habits. Thus in the health clinic, we suggest that taking dietary supplements complements a patient's healthy habits, with the exception of dietary habits, for

  20. Student Reading Practices in Print and Electronic Media

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foasberg, Nancy M.

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports a diary-based qualitative study on college students' reading habits with regard to print and electronic media. Students used a form to record information about their reading practices for twelve days, including length of reading event, location, format used, and the purpose of reading. Students tended to use print for academic…

  1. Book Reading Motivation Scale: Reliability and Validity Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katranci, Mehmet

    2015-01-01

    Book reading enhances the intellectual world of people. It is very important to know the factors that motivate children to read books as it will help to instill book reading habit in them. As such, the present study aims to develop a "Book Reading Motivation Scale" to determine elementary and secondary school students' reading…

  2. Professional Literature: Who Reads It?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Patricia F.

    1977-01-01

    To find out if professional periodicals and books are really being read, the American Management Association and the American Society for Training and Development made a joint national survey of the reading habits of three thousand training managers randomly selected from their memberships. Charts of the 801 responses are presented and discussed.…

  3. Enduring links from childhood mathematics and reading achievement to adult socioeconomic status.

    PubMed

    Ritchie, Stuart J; Bates, Timothy C

    2013-07-01

    Understanding the determinants of socioeconomic status (SES) is an important economic and social goal. Several major influences on SES are known, yet much of the variance in SES remains unexplained. In a large, population-representative sample from the United Kingdom, we tested the effects of mathematics and reading achievement at age 7 on attained SES by age 42. Mathematics and reading ability both had substantial positive associations with adult SES, above and beyond the effects of SES at birth, and with other important factors, such as intelligence. Achievement in mathematics and reading was also significantly associated with intelligence scores, academic motivation, and duration of education. These findings suggest effects of improved early mathematics and reading on SES attainment across the life span.

  4. Morpho-Phonemic Analysis Boosts Word Reading for Adult Struggling Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gray, Susan H.; Ehri, Linnea C.; Locke, John L.

    2018-01-01

    A randomized control trial compared the effects of two kinds of vocabulary instruction on component reading skills of adult struggling readers. Participants seeking alternative high school diplomas received 8 h of scripted tutoring to learn forty academic vocabulary words embedded within a civics curriculum. They were matched for language…

  5. The Non-Fiction Reading Habits of Young Successful Boy Readers: Forming Connections between Masculinity and Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Susannah

    2004-01-01

    The reading experiences of six young successful boy readers were studied over a two-year period. In this article, their non-fiction reading is analysed and ways in which the boys make positive connections between masculinity and reading are identified. The boys' non-fiction reading centres on typical boy interest areas and hobbies (for example,…

  6. The Rise of E-Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rainie, Lee; Zickuhr, Kathryn; Purcell, Kristen; Madden, Mary; Brenner, Joanna

    2012-01-01

    The growing popularity of e-books and the adoption of specialized e-book reading devices are documented in a series of new nationally representative surveys by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project that look at the public's general reading habits, their consumption of print books, e-books and audiobooks, and their attitudes…

  7. Dyslexia in Adults: Evidence for Deficits in Non-Word Reading and in the Phonological Representation of Lexical Items.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elbro, Carsten; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Compared to controls, adults (n=102) who reported a history of difficulties in learning to read were disabled in phonological coding, but less disabled in reading comprehension. Adults with poor phonological coding skills had basic deficits in phonological representations of spoken words, even when semantic word knowledge, phonemic awareness,…

  8. Factors Affecting the Reading Media Used by Visually Impaired Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goudiras, Dimitrios B.; Papadopoulos, Konstantinos S.; Koutsoklenis, Athanasios Ch.; Papageorgiou, Virginia E.; Stergiou, Maria S.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine reading media (braille, cassettes, screen-reader, screen-magnifier, large print, low vision aids, CCTV) used by visually impaired adults. This article reports the results of a research project involving 100 people with visual impairment. The participants were interviewed and asked to fill in a questionnaire to…

  9. Learning to Read from a Social Practice View: Ethnography, Schooling and Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Street, Brian

    2016-01-01

    This paper looks at some issues around "learning to read" from the viewpoint of a social practice concept of literacy for both child and adult literacy. This calls for an ethnographic approach that, although increasingly common in the field of adult literacy, is less common in the policy and practice of schooling; there, a more…

  10. Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Assessment for Dyslexia in Adolescents and Young Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nielsen, Kathleen; Abbott, Robert; Griffin, Whitney; Lott, Joe; Raskind, Wendy; Berninger, Virginia W.

    2016-01-01

    The same working memory and reading and writing achievement phenotypes (behavioral markers of genetic variants) validated in prior research with younger children and older adults in a multi-generational family genetics study of dyslexia were used to study 81 adolescent and young adults (ages 16 to 25) from that study. Dyslexia is impaired word…

  11. Mealtime habits and risk of developing the metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance among Mexican adults.

    PubMed

    Méndez-Hernández, Pablo; Dosamantes-Carrasco, Libia Darina; Siani, Carole; Pierlot, Romain; Martínez-Gómez, Margarita; Rivera-Paredez, Berenice; Cervantes-Popoca, Laura; Rojas-Lima, Elodia; Salazar-Martínez, Eduardo; Flores, Yvonne N; Salmerón, Jorge

    2016-11-15

    Meals are an important source of food intake, contributing to body weight and health status. Previous studies have examined the relationship between isolated mealtime behaviours and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this study was to examine the influence over time of ten interrelated mealtime habits on the risk of developing the MetS and insulin resistance (IR) among Mexican adults. We conducted a prospective cohort study with a sample of 956 health workers. The Mealtime Habits Quality (MHQ) scale is based on four mealtime situations (availability of time to eat, distractions while eating, environmental and social context of eating, and familiar or cultural eating habits), which were used to assess the participants' MHQ at the baseline (2004-2006) and follow-up (2010-2012) evaluations. The MetS was assessed using criteria from the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). IR was defined using the homoeostasis model assessment. Crude and adjusted relative risks were calculated to estimate the relationship between MHQ and the risk of developing the MetS or IR. Participants classified in the lower MHQ category had an 8·8 (95 % CI 3·1, 25) and 11·1 (95 % CI 3·4, 36·1) times greater risk of developing the MetS (using the NCEP-ATP III and IDF criteria, respectively), and an 11·2 times (95 % CI 3·9, 31·5) greater likelihood of developing IR, compared with those in the higher MHQ group. This prospective study reveals that individuals who engaged in more undesirable than recommended mealtime behaviours had a >10-fold risk of developing the MetS or IR.

  12. Deciphering spectral fingerprints of habitable exoplanets.

    PubMed

    Kaltenegger, Lisa; Selsis, Frank; Fridlund, Malcolm; Lammer, Helmut; Beichman, Charles; Danchi, William; Eiroa, Carlos; Henning, Thomas; Herbst, Tom; Léger, Alain; Liseau, René; Lunine, Jonathan; Paresce, Francesco; Penny, Alan; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Röttgering, Huub; Schneider, Jean; Stam, Daphne; Tinetti, Giovanna; White, Glenn J

    2010-01-01

    We discuss how to read a planet's spectrum to assess its habitability and search for the signatures of a biosphere. After a decade rich in giant exoplanet detections, observation techniques have advanced to a level where we now have the capability to find planets of less than 10 Earth masses (M(Earth)) (so-called "super Earths"), which may be habitable. How can we characterize those planets and assess whether they are habitable? This new field of exoplanet search has shown an extraordinary capacity to combine research in astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and geophysics into a new and exciting interdisciplinary approach to understanding our place in the Universe. The results of a first-generation mission will most likely generate an amazing scope of diverse planets that will set planet formation, evolution, and our planet into an overall context.

  13. The Relationship between Intrinsic Couplings of the Visual Word Form Area with Spoken Language Network and Reading Ability in Children and Adults

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yu; Zhang, Linjun; Xia, Zhichao; Yang, Jie; Shu, Hua; Li, Ping

    2017-01-01

    Reading plays a key role in education and communication in modern society. Learning to read establishes the connections between the visual word form area (VWFA) and language areas responsible for speech processing. Using resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and Granger Causality Analysis (GCA) methods, the current developmental study aimed to identify the difference in the relationship between the connections of VWFA-language areas and reading performance in both adults and children. The results showed that: (1) the spontaneous connectivity between VWFA and the spoken language areas, i.e., the left inferior frontal gyrus/supramarginal gyrus (LIFG/LSMG), was stronger in adults compared with children; (2) the spontaneous functional patterns of connectivity between VWFA and language network were negatively correlated with reading ability in adults but not in children; (3) the causal influence from LIFG to VWFA was negatively correlated with reading ability only in adults but not in children; (4) the RSFCs between left posterior middle frontal gyrus (LpMFG) and VWFA/LIFG were positively correlated with reading ability in both adults and children; and (5) the causal influence from LIFG to LSMG was positively correlated with reading ability in both groups. These findings provide insights into the relationship between VWFA and the language network for reading, and the role of the unique features of Chinese in the neural circuits of reading. PMID:28690507

  14. The Relationship between Intrinsic Couplings of the Visual Word Form Area with Spoken Language Network and Reading Ability in Children and Adults.

    PubMed

    Li, Yu; Zhang, Linjun; Xia, Zhichao; Yang, Jie; Shu, Hua; Li, Ping

    2017-01-01

    Reading plays a key role in education and communication in modern society. Learning to read establishes the connections between the visual word form area (VWFA) and language areas responsible for speech processing. Using resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and Granger Causality Analysis (GCA) methods, the current developmental study aimed to identify the difference in the relationship between the connections of VWFA-language areas and reading performance in both adults and children. The results showed that: (1) the spontaneous connectivity between VWFA and the spoken language areas, i.e., the left inferior frontal gyrus/supramarginal gyrus (LIFG/LSMG), was stronger in adults compared with children; (2) the spontaneous functional patterns of connectivity between VWFA and language network were negatively correlated with reading ability in adults but not in children; (3) the causal influence from LIFG to VWFA was negatively correlated with reading ability only in adults but not in children; (4) the RSFCs between left posterior middle frontal gyrus (LpMFG) and VWFA/LIFG were positively correlated with reading ability in both adults and children; and (5) the causal influence from LIFG to LSMG was positively correlated with reading ability in both groups. These findings provide insights into the relationship between VWFA and the language network for reading, and the role of the unique features of Chinese in the neural circuits of reading.

  15. Swallows and Amazons Forever: How Adults and Children Engage in Reading a Classic Text

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maine, Fiona; Waller, Alison

    2011-01-01

    This qualitative case study explores the nature of reading engagement, taking a reader response approach to analysing and discussing the experiences and perspectives of real readers. The paper reports a collaborative research project in which a group of five primary-age children and a group of five adults of different ages were asked to read and…

  16. Impact of oral health behaviours and oral habits on the number of remaining teeth in older Taiwanese dentate adults.

    PubMed

    Hsu, Kun-Jung; Yen, Yea-Yin; Lan, Shou-Jen; Wu, Yi-Min; Lee, Huey-Er

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the impact of oral health behaviours and oral habits on the number of remaining teeth in older Taiwanese dentate adults. Subjects comprised dentate patients (mean age, 60.0 ± 9.9 years) in Taiwan. Information on demographic data, oral health behaviours, oral habits and self-perceived health status was collected via self-administered questionnaires and dentition status was assessed by oral examination. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine variables correlated with the low dentition group (subjects with less than 20 natural teeth or 8 functional tooth units). The analysis showed that the low dentition group was more likely to be older and to exhibit low educational levels, less frequent use of dental floss, more common smoking habits, poor self-perceived dental health and to be exbetel- nut chewers. In addition, the low dentition group was less likely to be current betel-nut chewers. These results underscore the importance of the use of dental floss and confirm the adverse effects of smoking on dental health. Hence, the dental profession should continue to encourage proper oral health behaviours and oral habits.

  17. A dual-route cascaded model of reading by deaf adults: evidence for grapheme to viseme conversion.

    PubMed

    Elliott, Eeva A; Braun, Mario; Kuhlmann, Michael; Jacobs, Arthur M

    2012-01-01

    There is an ongoing debate whether deaf individuals access phonology when reading, and if so, what impact the ability to access phonology might have on reading achievement. However, the debate so far has been theoretically unspecific on two accounts: (a) the phonological units deaf individuals may have of oral language have not been specified and (b) there seem to be no explicit cognitive models specifying how phonology and other factors operate in reading by deaf individuals. We propose that deaf individuals have representations of the sublexical structure of oral-aural language which are based on mouth shapes and that these sublexical units are activated during reading by deaf individuals. We specify the sublexical units of deaf German readers as 11 "visemes" and incorporate the viseme set into a working model of single-word reading by deaf adults based on the dual-route cascaded model of reading aloud by Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, and Ziegler (2001. DRC: A dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud. Psychological Review, 108, 204-256. doi: 10.1037//0033-295x.108.1.204). We assessed the indirect route of this model by investigating the "pseudo-homoviseme" effect using a lexical decision task in deaf German reading adults. We found a main effect of pseudo-homovisemy, suggesting that at least some deaf individuals do automatically access sublexical structure during single-word reading.

  18. Improving Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Adult ESL Learners Using Bottom-Up and Top-Down Vocabulary Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oliver, Rhonda; Young, Shahreen

    2016-01-01

    The current research examines the effect of two methods of vocabulary training on reading fluency and comprehension of adult English as second language (ESL) tertiary-bound students. The methods used were isolated vocabulary training (bottom-up reading) and vocabulary training in context (top-down reading). The current exploratory and…

  19. Reading Intervention Outcomes for Adults with Disabilities in a Vocational Rehabilitation Setting: Results of a 3-Year Research and Demonstration Grant

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanderberg, Laura E.; Pierce, Margaret E.; Disney, Laurel J.

    2011-01-01

    This study reports on an examination of the effectiveness of a reading intervention for adults with disabilities in a vocational rehabilitation setting. Participants were 57 adults with disabilities and low reading skills enrolled at the Reading Clinic at the Michigan Career and Technical Institute. As part of a 3-year research and demonstration…

  20. Children's Book Reading Habits: A New Criterion for Literacy. Reading Education Report No. 63.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Paul T.; And Others

    To the traditional arguments for teaching children to read can be added the contemporary idea that literacy is a tool, the necessary skill for full participation in society, and the ticket to social mobility and success. New reasons for reading books have emerged from recent gains in the understanding of the comprehension process and the nature of…

  1. Second Language Reading: Reading, Language, and Metacognition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carrell, Patricia L.

    A study investigated the role of metacognitive skills and the conception of reading in the reading comprehension of adult native speakers of Spanish and English. The study differed from others in its examination of reading conceptions and comprehension in both the first and second languages. Results suggest that both first language reading ability…

  2. Binocular Coordination during Reading and Non-Reading Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirkby, Julie A.; Webster, Lisa A. D.; Blythe, Hazel I.; Liversedge, Simon P.

    2008-01-01

    The goal of this review is to evaluate the literature on binocular coordination during reading and non-reading tasks in adult, child, and dyslexic populations. The review begins with a description of the basic characteristics of eye movements during reading. Then, reading and non-reading studies investigating binocular coordination are evaluated.…

  3. What component of executive functions contributes to normal and impaired reading comprehension in young adults?

    PubMed

    Georgiou, George K; Das, J P

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to examine what component of executive functions (EF) - planning and working memory - predicts reading comprehension in young adults (Study 1), and (b) to examine if less skilled comprehenders experience deficits in the EF components (Study 2). In Study 1, we assessed 178 university students (120 females; mean age=21.82 years) on planning (Planned Connections, Planned Codes, and Planned Patterns), working memory (Listening Span, Digit Span Backward, and Digit Memory), and reading comprehension (Nelson-Denny Reading Test). The results of structural equation modeling indicated that only planning was a significant predictor of reading comprehension. In Study 2, we assessed 30 university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit (19 females; mean age=23.01 years) and 30 controls (18 females; mean age=22.77 years) on planning (Planned Connections and Crack the Code) and working memory (Listening Span and Digit Span Backward). The results showed that less skilled comprehenders performed significantly poorer than controls only in planning. Taken together, the findings of both studies suggest that planning is the preeminent component of EF that is driving its relationship with reading comprehension in young adults. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Reading Habits, Perceptual Learning, and Recognition of Printed Words

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nazir, Tatjana A.; Ben-Boutayab, Nadia; Decoppet, Nathalie; Deutsch, Avital; Frost, Ram

    2004-01-01

    The present work aims at demonstrating that visual training associated with the act of reading modifies the way we perceive printed words. As reading does not train all parts of the retina in the same way but favors regions on the side in the direction of scanning, visual word recognition should be better at retinal locations that are frequently…

  5. Musical backgrounds, listening habits, and aesthetic enjoyment of adult cochlear implant recipients.

    PubMed

    Gfeller, K; Christ, A; Knutson, J F; Witt, S; Murray, K T; Tyler, R S

    2000-01-01

    This paper describes the listening habits and musical enjoyment of postlingually deafened adults who use cochlear implants. Sixty-five implant recipients (35 females, 30 males) participated in a survey containing questions about musical background, prior involvement in music, and audiologic success with the implant in various listening circumstances. Responses were correlated with measures of cognition and speech recognition. Sixty-seven implant recipients completed daily diaries (7 consecutive days) in which they reported hours spent in specific music activities. Results indicate a wide range of success with music. In general, people enjoy music less postimplantation than prior to hearing loss. Musical enjoyment is influenced by the listening environment (e.g., a quiet room) and features of the music.

  6. "Aspire!" A Summer Program in Reading Enrichment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tanis, Robin S.

    2003-01-01

    Describes a high school summer reading program that was developed to encourage a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure by assembling a booklist of fiction and nonfiction titles, each sponsored by an administrator or teacher who then led a discussion of that book in the fall. (LRW)

  7. Adolescent Rats are Resistant to Forming Ethanol Seeking Habits

    PubMed Central

    Serlin, Hannah; Torregrossa, Mary M.

    2015-01-01

    Early age of onset alcohol drinking is significantly more likely to lead to alcohol use disorders (AUDs) than alcohol drinking that begins after the age of 18. Unfortunately, the majority of people in the United States begin drinking in adolescence. Therefore, it is important to understand how early alcohol drinking leads to increased risk for AUDs so that better treatments and prevention strategies can be developed. Adolescents perceive greater rewarding properties of alcohol, and adolescents may be more likely to form alcohol-seeking habits that promote continued use throughout the lifetime. Therefore, we compared the development of alcohol seeking habits in adolescent and adult male, Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were trained to lever press to receive 10% ethanol + 0.1% saccharin on a schedule that promotes habit formation. Rats were tested using a contingency degradation procedure at different points in training. Adult rats formed ethanol-seeking habits with only moderate training, while adolescents remained goal-directed even with extended training. Nevertheless, adolescents consumed more ethanol than adults throughout the experiment and continued to consume more ethanol than adults when they reached adulthood. Therefore, early onset alcohol use may promote AUD formation through establishment of high levels of drinking that becomes habitual in adulthood. PMID:25575668

  8. Creating a Love of Reading = Susciter le Gout de la Lecture.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Leary, John Daniel

    To develop good reading habits, children must be surrounded with books, stories and reading not only in the classroom but in the home and the community. Children who read and are read to outside of school do better than those who do not read and are not read to outside of school. Parents and other family members should make books and reading aloud…

  9. Reading-Related Literacy Activities of American Adults: Time Spent, Task Types, and Cognitive Skills Used

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Sheida; Chen, Jing; Forsyth, Barbara

    2010-01-01

    This article presents data on the types and duration of reading-related activities reported by a volunteer sample of 400 adults (demographically similar to the U.S. adult population age 20 and older in terms of race, ethnicity, education, and working status) in the 2005 Real-World Tasks Study. This diary study revealed that adults spent, on…

  10. The Association between Music Training, Background Music, and Adult Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haning, Marshall

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to determine whether music training is correlated with increased reading comprehension skills in young adults. In addition, an attempt was made to replicate Patson and Tippett's (2011) finding that background music impairs language comprehension scores in musicians but not in nonmusicians. Participants with musical…

  11. The Librarians' Reading Renaissance[R] Survey. Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    School Renaissance Inst., Inc., Madison, WI.

    A study was conducted which surveyed Reading Renaissance Model (RR) certified librarians (of 112 surveys sent, 49 responded). The survey requested demographic information and asked attitudinal questions about how RR has affected students' reading habits and librarian job satisfaction. Also solicited was circulation and funding information for the…

  12. Reading aids for adults with low vision.

    PubMed

    Virgili, Gianni; Acosta, Ruthy; Bentley, Sharon A; Giacomelli, Giovanni; Allcock, Claire; Evans, Jennifer R

    2018-04-17

    The purpose of low-vision rehabilitation is to allow people to resume or to continue to perform daily living tasks, with reading being one of the most important. This is achieved by providing appropriate optical devices and special training in the use of residual-vision and low-vision aids, which range from simple optical magnifiers to high-magnification video magnifiers. To assess the effects of different visual reading aids for adults with low vision. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Trials Register) (2017, Issue 12); MEDLINE Ovid; Embase Ovid; BIREME LILACS, OpenGrey, the ISRCTN registry; ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). The date of the search was 17 January 2018. This review includes randomised and quasi-randomised trials that compared any device or aid used for reading to another device or aid in people aged 16 or over with low vision as defined by the study investigators. We did not compare low-vision aids with no low-vision aid since it is obviously not possible to measure reading speed, our primary outcome, in people that cannot read ordinary print. We considered reading aids that maximise the person's visual reading capacity, for example by increasing image magnification (optical and electronic magnifiers), augmenting text contrast (coloured filters) or trying to optimise the viewing angle or gaze position (such as prisms). We have not included studies investigating reading aids that allow reading through hearing, such as talking books or screen readers, or through touch, such as Braille-based devices and we did not consider rehabilitation strategies or complex low-vision interventions. We used standard methods expected by Cochrane. At least two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. The primary outcome of the review was reading speed in words per minute. Secondary

  13. ADHD and Reading Disability in Male Adults: Is There a Connection?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samuelsson, S.; Lundberg, I.; Herkner, B.

    2004-01-01

    The present study examined the comorbidity between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disability (RD) in male adults. Participants were 120 men, of whom 24 were classified as having ADHD. The basis for the diagnosis was two self-report scales validated by interviews and background data. An extensive battery was used to…

  14. An Introspective Study of Arabic- and Mandarin-Speakers' Reading Comprehension Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abbott, Marilyn

    2010-01-01

    Little L2 reading strategy research has explored the effect of linguistic and cross-cultural differences on strategic reading habits. This study attempted to fill this void by examining the reading strategies that Arabic- and Mandarin-speaking immigrants employed when reading and answering Canadian Language Benchmarks Assessment reading…

  15. Comparing Hypertext Reading in L1 and L2: The Case of Filipino Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gruspe, Michael Angelo M.; Marinas, Christian Joshua L.; Villasin, Marren Nicole F.; Villanueva, Ariel Josephe Therese R.; Vizconde, Camilla J.

    2015-01-01

    This research probed into the reading experiences of adult readers in their first language (L1) and second language (L2). Qualitative in nature, the investigation focused on twelve (12) adult readers , six (6) males and six (6) females, whose first language is Filipino. Data were gathered through interviews and focus-group discussions. Based on…

  16. "Passageless" Administration of the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension Test: Associations with IQ and Reading Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ready, Rebecca E.; Chaudhry, Maheen F.; Schatz, Kelly C.; Strazzullo, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    There are few tests that assess reading comprehension in adults, but these tests are needed for a comprehensive assessment of reading disorders (RD). "The Nelson-Denny Reading Test" (NDRT) has a long-passage reading comprehension component that can be used with adolescents and adults. A problem with the NDRT is that reading comprehension…

  17. Reading Patterns of Middle-Aged and Older Canadian Book-Readers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLeod, Roderick Wm.

    A study investigated the diversity of reading behaviors reported by 3,354 middle-aged (45-64) and older (65 and older) Canadian readers in response to a questionnaire on reading habits. The study coupled the amount of time spent reading with a "breadth" score based on the variety and frequency of books read. Based on the subjects' time…

  18. Adult Reading, Rated G.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Anne C.

    2003-01-01

    Suggests books for summer reading for Department of Education officials involved in closing all 16 ERIC Clearinghouses or touting the superiority of a Christian education, standardized test-makers, planners of the Gates Foundation, and the creator of the Algebra Project. For example, suggests that standardized test-makers read William Bennett's…

  19. Breath Group Analysis for Reading and Spontaneous Speech in Healthy Adults

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yu-Tsai; Green, Jordan R.; Nip, Ignatius S.B.; Kent, Ray D.; Kent, Jane Finley

    2010-01-01

    Aims The breath group can serve as a functional unit to define temporal and fundamental frequency (f0) features in continuous speech. These features of the breath group are determined by the physiologic, linguistic, and cognitive demands of communication. Reading and spontaneous speech are two speaking tasks that vary in these demands and are commonly used to evaluate speech performance for research and clinical applications. The purpose of this study is to examine differences between reading and spontaneous speech in the temporal and f0 aspects of their breath groups. Methods Sixteen participants read two passages and answered six questions while wearing a circumferentially vented mask connected to a pneumotach. The aerodynamic signal was used to identify inspiratory locations. The audio signal was used to analyze task differences in breath group structure, including temporal and f0 components. Results The main findings were that spontaneous speech task exhibited significantly more grammatically inappropriate breath group locations and longer breath group duration than did the passage reading task. Conclusion The task differences in the percentage of grammatically inadequate breath group locations and in breath group duration for healthy adult speakers partly explain the differences in cognitive-linguistic load between the passage reading and spontaneous speech. PMID:20588052

  20. Breath group analysis for reading and spontaneous speech in healthy adults.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yu-Tsai; Green, Jordan R; Nip, Ignatius S B; Kent, Ray D; Kent, Jane Finley

    2010-01-01

    The breath group can serve as a functional unit to define temporal and fundamental frequency (f0) features in continuous speech. These features of the breath group are determined by the physiologic, linguistic, and cognitive demands of communication. Reading and spontaneous speech are two speaking tasks that vary in these demands and are commonly used to evaluate speech performance for research and clinical applications. The purpose of this study is to examine differences between reading and spontaneous speech in the temporal and f0 aspects of their breath groups. Sixteen participants read two passages and answered six questions while wearing a circumferentially vented mask connected to a pneumotach. The aerodynamic signal was used to identify inspiratory locations. The audio signal was used to analyze task differences in breath group structure, including temporal and f0 components. The main findings were that spontaneous speech task exhibited significantly more grammatically inappropriate breath group locations and longer breath group duration than did the passage reading task. The task differences in the percentage of grammatically inadequate breath group locations and in breath group duration for healthy adult speakers partly explain the differences in cognitive-linguistic load between the passage reading and spontaneous speech. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. Women Reading for Education, Affinity & Development (WREAD): An Evaluation of a Semistructured Reading Discussion Group for African American Female Adult-Literacy Students with Histories of Trauma

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Jayatta D.

    2012-01-01

    Women Reading for Education, Affinity & Development (WREAD), a reading discussion group geared toward African American female adult-literacy students with self-defined histories of trauma, was an outgrowth of research identifying links between trauma, women's struggles with literacy, and the need to be conscious of emotional health…

  2. Free Reading Is a Simple Idea, But It Works!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleitz, Jeanette; Harman, Ronald

    1969-01-01

    Class time devoted to individual reading is a simple, effective means of improving reading motivation in junior high schools. In order to guide students to books that they will enjoy, the teacher needs to know (1) the students' reading habits, abilities, and interests, and (2) the library facilities available. A good paperback library can be…

  3. Effects of aging, word frequency, and text stimulus quality on reading across the adult lifespan: Evidence from eye movements.

    PubMed

    Warrington, Kayleigh L; McGowan, Victoria A; Paterson, Kevin B; White, Sarah J

    2018-04-19

    Reductions in stimulus quality may disrupt the reading performance of older adults more when compared with young adults because of sensory declines that begin early in middle age. However, few studies have investigated adult age differences in the effects of stimulus quality on reading, and none have examined how this affects lexical processing and eye movement control. Accordingly, we report two experiments that examine the effects of reduced stimulus quality on the eye movements of young (18-24 years), middle-aged (41-51 years), and older (65+ years) adult readers. In Experiment 1, participants read sentences that contained a high- or low-frequency critical word and that were presented normally or with contrast reduced so that words appeared faint. Experiment 2 further investigated effects of reduced stimulus quality using a gaze-contingent technique to present upcoming text normally or with contrast reduced. Typical patterns of age-related reading difficulty (e.g., slower reading, more regressions) were observed in both experiments. In addition, eye movements were disrupted more for older than younger adults when all text (Experiment 1) or just upcoming text (Experiment 2) appeared faint. Moreover, there was an interaction between stimulus quality and word frequency (Experiment 1), such that readers fixated faint low-frequency words for disproportionately longer. Crucially, this effect was similar across all age groups. Thus, although older readers suffer more from reduced stimulus quality, this additional difficulty primarily affects their visual processing of text. These findings have important implications for understanding the role of stimulus quality on reading behavior across the lifespan. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Use of Contextual Information and Prediction by Struggling Adult Readers: Evidence from Reading Times and Event-Related Potentials

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Shukhan; Payne, Brennan R.; Steen, Allison A.; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.; Federmeier, Kara D.

    2017-01-01

    We employed self-paced reading and event-related potential measures to investigate how adults of varying literacy levels use sentence context information when reading. Community-dwelling participants read strongly and weakly constraining sentences that ended with expected or unexpected target words. Skilled readers showed N400s that were graded by…

  5. Use of Contextual Information and Prediction by Struggling Adult Readers: Evidence from Reading Times and Event-Related Potentials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Shukhan; Payne, Brennan R.; Steen, Allison A.; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.; Federmeier, Kara D.

    2017-01-01

    We employed self-paced reading and event-related potential measures to investigate how adults of varying literacy levels use sentence context information when reading. Community-dwelling participants read strongly and weakly constraining sentences that ended with expected or unex- pected target words. Skilled readers showed N400s that were graded…

  6. Adult Fans of Comic Books: What They Get out of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Botzakis, Stergios

    2009-01-01

    This interview study is an exploration of the popular cultural and lifelong literacy practices of adult readers of comic books. Focusing on 4 participants from a pool of 12, the researcher used Kvale's (1996) method of meaning interpretation to analyze utterances and speak to the various uses reading held for these people. Aaron, Kyle, Peter, and…

  7. A Literacy Exercise: An Extracurricular Reading Program as an Intervention to Enrich Student Reading Habits in Qatar

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nasser, Ramzi

    2013-01-01

    This paper evaluates an extracurricular reading activity in Qatari schools. The paper presents a two-month extracurricular reading program designed for fourth grade students. The methodology used triangulation of the data to analyze, in detail, the students' primary perceptions towards reading, teacher self-efficacy, teacher instructional behavior…

  8. A Read-Aloud for Science (Read It Aloud).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Judy S.; Breen, Margaret

    1996-01-01

    Recommends a young adult read-aloud selection for science classes on endangered species. Describes listening, writing, discussing, investigating, and debating activities capitalizing on this read-aloud. (SR)

  9. Reading with filtered fixations: adult age differences in the effectiveness of low-level properties of text within central vision.

    PubMed

    Jordan, Timothy R; McGowan, Victoria A; Paterson, Kevin B

    2014-06-01

    When reading, low-level visual properties of text are acquired from central vision during brief fixational pauses, but the effectiveness of these properties may differ in older age. To investigate, a filtering technique displayed the low, medium, or high spatial frequencies of text falling within central vision as young (18-28 years) and older (65+ years) adults read. Reading times for normal text did not differ across age groups, but striking differences in the effectiveness of spatial frequencies were observed. Consequently, even when young and older adults read equally well, the effectiveness of spatial frequencies in central vision differs markedly in older age. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Shaping Identities: The Reading of Young Bilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Susan

    2004-01-01

    How far do bilingual readers identify with the "implied readers" of the texts they read? This article explores this question through a quantitative analysis of the reading habits of a sample of 100 English secondary-school students, mainly from southern Asian backgrounds. Particular focus is given to the way a bilingual reader may or may not be…

  11. Elaborative Processing in the Korsakoff Syndrome: Context versus Habit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Damme, Ilse; d'Ydewalle, Gery

    2008-01-01

    Using a procedure of Hay and Jacoby [Hay, J. F., & Jacoby, L. L. (1999). "Separating habit and recollection in young and older adults: Effects of elaborative processing and distinctiveness." "Psychology and Aging," 14, 122-134], Korsakoff patients' capacity to encode and retrieve elaborative, semantic information was investigated. Habits were…

  12. Habit-based interventions for weight loss maintenance in adults with overweight and obesity: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Cleo, Gina; Glasziou, Paul; Beller, Elaine; Isenring, Elisabeth; Thomas, Rae

    2018-04-23

    The objective of this study was to determine whether habit-based interventions are clinically beneficial in achieving long-term (12-month) weight loss maintenance and explore whether making new habits or breaking old habits is more effective. Volunteer community members aged 18-75 years who had overweight or obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 ) were randomized in a single-blind, three-arm, randomized controlled trial. Ten Top Tips (TTT), Do Something Different (DSD), and the attention-only waitlist (WL) control groups were conducted for 12 weeks from July to October 2015. Participants were followed up post-intervention (all groups) and at 6 and 12-month post-intervention (Ten Top Tips and Do Something Different only). The primary outcome was weight-loss maintenance at 12-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included weight loss at all time points, fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise, wellbeing, depression, anxiety, habit strength, and openness to change. Of the 130 participants assessed for eligibility, 75 adults (mean BMI 34.5 kg/m 2 [SD 6.2]), with a mean age of 51 years were recruited. Assessments were completed post-intervention by 66/75 (88%) of participants and by 43/50 (86%) at 12 months. At post-intervention, participants in the Ten Top Tips (-3.3 kg; 95% CI -5.2, -1.4) and Do Something Different (-2.9 kg; 95% CI -4.3, -1.4) interventions lost significantly more weight (P = < .001) than those on the waitlist control (-0.4 kg; 95% CI -1.2, 0.3). Both intervention groups continued to lose further weight to the 12-month follow-up; TTT lost an additional -2.4 kg (95% CI -5.1, 0.4) and DSD lost -1.7 kg (95% CI -3.4, -0.1). At 12-month post-intervention, 28/43 (65%) of participants in both intervention groups had reduced their total body weight by ≥5%, a clinically important change. Habit-based weight-loss interventions-forming new habits (TTT) and breaking old habits (DSD), resulted in clinically important weight-loss maintenance at 12

  13. Miraculous Readings: Using Fantasy Novels about Reading to Reflect on Reading the Bible

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dalton, Russell W.

    2009-01-01

    This article reflects on the vivid images of reading presented in several popular fantasy novels, including "The Spiderwick Chronicles," "The Great Good Thing," and "The Neverending Story." It suggests that these images can be used to help children, youth, and adults reflect on the nature of reading and the potential power of reading sacred texts.…

  14. Reading component skills of learners in adult basic education.

    PubMed

    MacArthur, Charles A; Konold, Timothy R; Glutting, Joseph J; Alamprese, Judith A

    2010-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components is needed because available measures were neither developed for nor normed on ABE populations or with nonnative speakers of English. The study included 486 students, 334 born or educated in the United States (native) and 152 not born or educated in the United States (nonnative) but who spoke English well enough to participate in English reading classes. All students had scores on 11 measures covering five constructs: decoding, word recognition, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test three models: a two-factor model with print and meaning factors; a three-factor model that separated out a fluency factor; and a five-factor model based on the hypothesized constructs. The five-factor model fit best. In addition, the CFA model fit both native and nonnative populations equally well without modification, showing that the tests measure the same constructs with the same accuracy for both groups. Group comparisons found no difference between the native and nonnative samples on word recognition, but the native sample scored higher on fluency and comprehension and lower on decoding than did the nonnative sample. Students with self-reported learning disabilities scored lower on all reading components. Differences by age and gender were also analyzed.

  15. Reading Comics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tilley, Carol L.

    2008-01-01

    Many adults, even librarians who willingly add comics to their collections, often dismiss the importance of comics. Compared to reading "real" books, reading comics appears to be a simple task and compared to reading no books, reading comics might be preferable. After all, comics do have words, but the plentiful pictures seem to carry most of the…

  16. A comparative study of dietary habits and nutritional intakes among Korean adults according to current depression status.

    PubMed

    Seo, Yuri; Je, Youjin

    2018-05-21

    Data regarding the association between depression and dietary factors in Korean adults are limited. We hypothesized that Korean men and women with depression would have poorer nutritional intakes and different dietary habits than those without depression. This study was based on data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted during 2012 to 2014. Overall, 10 591 subjects (4308 men, 6529 women) aged 19 to 64 years were selected and categorized according to current depression status. Food and nutrient intakes were estimated using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires. Compared with non-depression, depression was associated with a higher body mass index and likelihood of a separated/divorced/widowed status, in addition to lower physical activity and employment rates. After adjusting for multiple variables, men with depression had lower intakes of rice cakes (P = 0.017) and eggs (P = 0.039) and a higher intake of chocolate (P = 0.040) than their non-depressed counterparts. Women with depression had a higher intake of carbonated drinks than those without depression (P = 0.015). However, the groups did not differ significantly in terms of nutrient intakes. A multivariable logistic regression analysis of dietary habits showed that depression correlated inversely with eating out (≥1 time/day vs <1 time/month) among men [odds ratio (OR) = 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.10-0.55] and women (OR = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.05-0.35) and positively with a lower number of daily meals (<3 vs ≥3) among women (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.01-2.11). Current depression status was associated with differences in some specific dietary intakes and habits in a sample of Korean adults. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  17. Lifewide Learning for Early Reading Development.

    PubMed

    Dowd, Amy Jo; Friedlander, Elliott; Jonason, Christine; Leer, Jane; Sorensen, Lisa Zook; Guajardo, Jarrett; D'Sa, Nikhit; Pava, Clara; Pisani, Lauren

    2017-03-01

    The authors examine the relationships between children's reading abilities and the enabling environment for learning in the context of Save the Children's Literacy Boost program. They conceptualize the enabling environment at a micro level, with two components: the home literacy environment, represented by reading materials/habits at home, and the community learning environment (community reading activities). Using longitudinal reading scores of 6,874 students in 424 schools in 12 sites across Africa and Asia, there was 1) a modest but consistent relationship between students' home literacy environments and reading scores, and 2) a strong relationship between reading gains and participation in community reading activities, suggesting that interventions should consider both home and community learning environments and their differential influences on interventions across different low-resource settings. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Susceptibility to distraction during reading in young, young-old, and old-old adults.

    PubMed

    McGinnis, Debra

    2012-01-01

    BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Susceptibility to distraction during reading may increase with age, resulting in comprehension errors. Neurological integrity and cognitive reserve are possible covariates of age-related distraction susceptibility. The current study investigated distraction susceptibility in three age groups (young, young-old, and old-old), and examined the covariation patterns of variable sets associated with neurological integrity and cognitive reserve. Participants responded to comprehension questions after reading stories that included semantically related or semantically unrelated distractors. Neurological integrity measures consisted of Mini-Mental State Examination, Selective Reminding, and Category Fluency. Cognitive reserve measures consisted of education and vocabulary. Old-old adults were more likely than young and young-old adults to select distractors when responding to comprehension questions (24.02%, 11.95%, 3.68%, respectively). Age-related distraction variance significantly overlapped neurological variance, and became more transparent after cognitive reserve variance was controlled. This study augments previous age-related distraction research by highlighting (a) the increase in distraction susceptibility in adults over 79, particularly when distractors are semantically related; (b) the influence of age-related neurological integrity on distraction; and (c) the possibility that education and verbal experience may decrease distraction susceptibility, consistent with cognitive reserve frameworks.

  19. Background Knowledge and the Magazine Reading Students Choose

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gabriel, Rachael; Allington, Richard; Billen, Monica

    2012-01-01

    Can students read difficult but self-selected texts--and if so, how? In this article we describe what we learned about middle school students' use of background knowledge and specific vocabulary from interviews and surveys in our longitudinal study of magazine reading habits. Then we discuss the implications of these findings for structuring…

  20. The Relation of Morphological Awareness and Syntactic Awareness to Adults' Reading Comprehension: Is Vocabulary Knowledge a Mediating Variable?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guo, Ying; Roehrig, Alysia D.; Williams, Rihana S.

    2011-01-01

    The authors' goal was to examine the structural relationships among vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension in English-speaking adults. Structural equation analysis of data collected from 151 participants revealed that morphological awareness affected reading comprehension directly. Syntactic…

  1. Smoking habits and leukocyte telomere length dynamics among older adults: Results from the ESTHER cohort.

    PubMed

    Müezzinler, Aysel; Mons, Ute; Dieffenbach, Aida Karina; Butterbach, Katja; Saum, Kai-Uwe; Schick, Matthias; Stammer, Hermann; Boukamp, Petra; Holleczek, Bernd; Stegmaier, Christa; Brenner, Hermann

    2015-10-01

    Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortens with age and short LTL has been associated with increased mortality and increased risk for some age-related outcomes. This study aims to analyse the associations of smoking habits with LTL and rate of LTL change per year in older adults. LTL was measured by quantitative PCR at baseline in 3600 older adults, who were enrolled in a population-based cohort study in Germany. For longitudinal analyses, measurements were repeated in blood samples obtained at 8-year follow-up from 1000 participants. Terminal Restriction Fragment analysis was additionally performed in a sub-sample to obtain absolute LTL in base pairs. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate associations of smoking habits with baseline LTL and changes in LTL over time. LTL was inversely associated with age (r=-0.090, p<0.0001). Women had longer LTL than men (p<0.0001). Smoking was inversely associated with LTL. On average, current smokers had 73 base pairs (BP) shorter LTL compared to never smokers. Smoking intensity and pack-years of smoking were also inversely associated with LTL, and a positive association was observed with years since smoking cessation. Slower LTL attrition rates were observed in ever smokers over 8years of follow-up. Our cross-sectional analysis supports suggestions that smoking might contribute to shortening of LTL but this relationship could not be shown longitudinally. The overall rather small effect sizes observed for smoking-related variables suggest that LTL reflects smoking-related health hazards only to a very limited extent. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Freedom To Read.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohr, Nicholasa

    1999-01-01

    Offers reflections (by Nicholasa Mohr, writer of children's, young adult, and adult literature) upon how she learned to read and how reading gave her a sense of freedom, as well as pride in her own Puerto Rican heritage, in spite of the nonacceptance and contempt she experienced in school. (SR)

  3. Learn to Read.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appelson, Marilyn; And Others

    The Learn to Read project was designed to provide a supportive setting in which functionally illiterate adult students from suburban Cook County, Illinois, and surrounding areas could develop reading and writing skills. The target population included English-dominant adults with basic oral competency but no literacy skills, as well as…

  4. Pleasure Reading: Associations between Young Women's Sexual Attitudes and Their Reading of Contemporary Women's Magazines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Janna L.; Ward, L. Monique

    2004-01-01

    Associations between magazine use and sexual attitudes were explored among 205 female college students. Measures assessed reading levels of adult-focused (e.g., Cosmopolitan) and teen-focused (e.g., Seventeen) contemporary women's magazines, reading motivations, sexual attitudes, and femininity ideologies. Frequent reading of adult-focused…

  5. Expanding Reading Interest, Response, Achievement; Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the North Carolina Council of the International Reading Association (7th, Greensboro, North Carolina, March 13-14, 1975).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Culyer, Richard C., III, Ed.

    This volume presents papers given at the Seventh Annual Conference on Reading of the North Carolina Council of the International Reading Association. General-session addresses include "Reading: The Fassport to the 80s" by Lewis C. Dowdy, "Developing the Habit of Reading Success" by William K. Durr, "Neither Simple-Minded nor Muddle-Headed Be" by…

  6. Scaffolding Reading Comprehension Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salem, Ashraf Atta Mohamed Safein

    2017-01-01

    The current study investigates whether English language teachers use scaffolding strategies for developing their students' reading comprehension skills or just for assessing their comprehension. It also tries to demonstrate whether teachers are aware of these strategies or they use them as a matter of habit. A questionnaire as well as structured…

  7. Present Food Shopping Habits in the Spanish Adult Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    PubMed

    Achón, María; Serrano, María; García-González, Ángela; Alonso-Aperte, Elena; Varela-Moreiras, Gregorio

    2017-05-18

    Information on grocery shopping patterns is one key to understanding dietary changes in recent years in Spain. This report presents an overview of Spanish food shopping patterns in the adult population. A cross-sectional, nationally representative telephone survey was conducted in Spain. Individuals were asked about food shopping responsibility roles, types of visited food stores, time spent, additional behaviors while shopping, the influence of marketing/advertising and, in particular, fresh produce shopping profile. Binary logistic regression models were developed. The final random sample included 2026 respondents aged ≥18 years, of which 1223 were women and 803 were men. Women reported being in charge of most of the food shopping activities. Looking for best prices, more than looking for healthy or sustainable foods, seemed to be a general behavior. Supermarkets were the preferred retail spaces for food price consideration, convenience, variety and availability. Fresh produce shopping was associated with traditional markets and neighborhood stores in terms of reliance and personalized service. It is essential to highlight the importance of the role played by women. They are the main supporters concerned in preserving adequate dietary habits. Economic factors, more than health or food sustainability, are commonly considered by the population. Traditional markets may play an important role in preserving some healthy dietary habits of the Mediterranean food culture in Spain.

  8. Present Food Shopping Habits in the Spanish Adult Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

    PubMed Central

    Achón, María; Serrano, María; García-González, Ángela; Alonso-Aperte, Elena; Varela-Moreiras, Gregorio

    2017-01-01

    Information on grocery shopping patterns is one key to understanding dietary changes in recent years in Spain. This report presents an overview of Spanish food shopping patterns in the adult population. A cross-sectional, nationally representative telephone survey was conducted in Spain. Individuals were asked about food shopping responsibility roles, types of visited food stores, time spent, additional behaviors while shopping, the influence of marketing/advertising and, in particular, fresh produce shopping profile. Binary logistic regression models were developed. The final random sample included 2026 respondents aged ≥18 years, of which 1223 were women and 803 were men. Women reported being in charge of most of the food shopping activities. Looking for best prices, more than looking for healthy or sustainable foods, seemed to be a general behavior. Supermarkets were the preferred retail spaces for food price consideration, convenience, variety and availability. Fresh produce shopping was associated with traditional markets and neighborhood stores in terms of reliance and personalized service. It is essential to highlight the importance of the role played by women. They are the main supporters concerned in preserving adequate dietary habits. Economic factors, more than health or food sustainability, are commonly considered by the population. Traditional markets may play an important role in preserving some healthy dietary habits of the Mediterranean food culture in Spain. PMID:28524085

  9. How Can I Help My Child Build Positive Attitudes Toward Reading?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glazer, Susan Mandel

    This booklet is one of a series of micromonographs on reading-related subjects that offers help to parents interested in stimulating reading habits in their children. Presented as a guide to developing a reading atmosphere in the home, the booklet suggests that parents begin with infant activities; teach their children through make believe; use…

  10. The Cognitive Profile of Adult Dyslexics and Its Relation to Their Reading Abilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beidas, Hanin; Khateb, Asaid; Breznitz, Zvia

    2013-01-01

    The question of which cognitive impairments are primarily associated with dyslexia has been a source of continuous debate. This study examined the cognitive profile of Hebrew-speaking compensated adult dyslexics and investigated whether their cognitive abilities accounted for a unique variance in their reading performance. Sixty-nine young adults…

  11. Exploring the Effects of Reading Young Adult Literature that Portrays People with Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Darragh, Janine Julianna

    2010-01-01

    This intervention study examined the impact of reading young adult novels that portray people with disabilities on the attitudes of 229 eighth grade students. Students' beliefs and intentions to interact with peers with disabilities were measured on three occasions utilizing the Shared Activities Questionnaire (Morgan, Walker, Bieberich &…

  12. 3 CFR 8633 - Proclamation 8633 of March 1, 2011. Read Across America Day, 2011

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... imagination, and unlock the potential that lies within each of our children. Reading is the foundation upon... engaging children in good reading habits and making reading a fun and interactive activity. Regardless of... life. Parents and mentors can help build fundamental skills by reading aloud to children regularly...

  13. Adapting Self-Selected Reading Practices for College-Level Developmental Reading Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flink, Patrick J.

    2017-01-01

    Reading comprehension and fluency issues are the most significant challenges facing adult, developmental reading students in community colleges. While a great deal of focus has been on improving developmental reading instruction, there is a lack of attention, and research, on how to best improve students' actual reading. Self-selected reading…

  14. On Reading and Not Reading Today: A Commentary on L. Borusiak's Article

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dubin, Boris

    2012-01-01

    In this commentary, the author stresses that reading habits in Russia have changed since the Soviet era, and the more intellectual journals and magazines in particular have lost their importance. Audiences for books and magazines have fragmented, and there are fewer sources of commonly shared information and ideas than was true a few decades ago.…

  15. Improvement of the Error-detection Mechanism in Adults with Dyslexia Following Reading Acceleration Training.

    PubMed

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi

    2016-05-01

    The error-detection mechanism aids in preventing error repetition during a given task. Electroencephalography demonstrates that error detection involves two event-related potential components: error-related and correct-response negativities (ERN and CRN, respectively). Dyslexia is characterized by slow, inaccurate reading. In particular, individuals with dyslexia have a less active error-detection mechanism during reading than typical readers. In the current study, we examined whether a reading training programme could improve the ability to recognize words automatically (lexical representations) in adults with dyslexia, thereby resulting in more efficient error detection during reading. Behavioural and electrophysiological measures were obtained using a lexical decision task before and after participants trained with the reading acceleration programme. ERN amplitudes were smaller in individuals with dyslexia than in typical readers before training but increased following training, as did behavioural reading scores. Differences between the pre-training and post-training ERN and CRN components were larger in individuals with dyslexia than in typical readers. Also, the error-detection mechanism as represented by the ERN/CRN complex might serve as a biomarker for dyslexia and be used to evaluate the effectiveness of reading intervention programmes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. iSTART-ALL: Confronting Adult Low Literacy with Intelligent Tutoring for Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Amy M.; Guerrero, Tricia A.; Tighe, Elizabeth L.; McNamara, Danielle S.

    2017-01-01

    There is little empirical research available on the substantial problem of adult low literacy rates, and limited educational technologies are available to address distinct instructional needs of this population. This paper reports on development and testing of a version of Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART) for…

  17. Reading: Putting the Pieces Together.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayes, Bernard L., Ed.; Camperell, Kay, Ed.

    1994-01-01

    The papers in this yearbook focus on the strategies, practices, and research related to elementary reading, secondary reading, adult reading, literature, philosophy of reading, psychology of reading, affective issues, administration, supervision, research, teacher training, assessment that affect reading and reading instruction. Papers in the book…

  18. How Do Young Adults Read Directions with and without Pictures?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-09-01

    AD-ABG9 223 NEW YORK STATE COLL OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES --ETC F/S 5/10 NOW DO YOUNG ADULTS READ DIRECTIONS WITH AND WITHOUT PICTURESflU) SEP...College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, a Statutory College of the State University, Cornell Unversity, .7. Ithaca. N.Y. 14.853. It is supported in part...ADDRESS.. 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASK Cornell University. Dept. of Educ., N..Stt9Q13(2) RO College of Agriculture 9 Life Sciences: A 613(2 R4-0

  19. Reading: United States.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weber, Rose-Marie

    1983-01-01

    An exploration of the increasingly important role of linguistics in literacy research and instruction reviews literature on reading comprehension, written language, orthography, metalinguistics, classroom language use, reading disabilities, native tongues, nonstandard dialects, bilingual education, adult literacy, and second-language reading. (86…

  20. ADHD and lifestyle habits in Czech adults, a national sample.

    PubMed

    Weissenberger, Simon; Ptacek, Radek; Vnukova, Martina; Raboch, Jiri; Klicperova-Baker, Martina; Domkarova, Lucie; Goetz, Michal

    2018-01-01

    Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been added as a diagnosis to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM5) in 2013, thus making ADHD, which has been classically known as a childhood disorder, a life-long disorder. Those suffering from the condition show very specific behavioral traits, which manifest as lifestyle habits; they also show comorbidities that can be the symptoms and/or consequences of certain lifestyles. The targeted population was adults aged 18-65 years. The total sample was 1,012 (507 males and 505 females). The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS V. 1.1) was administered to evaluate the current symptoms of ADHD and a questionnaire regarding lifestyles that are pertinent to ADHD, exercise, drug use, and diet. An ASRS score of 4-6 points was found in 11.4% of the male population and 9.7% of the female population (5-6 points indicate very high-intensity symptoms). A score of 6, the highest intensity of symptomatology, was found in 1.18% of males and 0.99% of females. Gender differences in scores were not statistically significant. In terms of self-reported lifestyles, we calculated an ordered logistic regression and the odds ratios of those with ASRS scores >4. Those with higher ASRS scores had higher rates of self-reported unhealthy lifestyles and poor diets with high consumption of sweets. We also ascertained a paradoxical finding that is not in line with the current literature on the disorder - lower rates of cigarette smoking among people with higher ADHD symptomatology. Several specific lifestyles were found to be associated with higher ADHD symptoms such as poor diet and cannabis use. Other factors classically associated with the disorder such as cocaine addiction and nicotinism were either insignificant or surprisingly less prominent among the Czech sample. However, ADHD-prone respondents reported to be more physically active, which fits the clinical picture of hyperactivity but contrasts

  1. The effects of context on processing words during sentence reading among adults varying in age and literacy skill.

    PubMed

    Steen-Baker, Allison A; Ng, Shukhan; Payne, Brennan R; Anderson, Carolyn J; Federmeier, Kara D; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L

    2017-08-01

    The facilitation of word processing by sentence context reflects the interaction between the build-up of message-level semantics and lexical processing. Yet, little is known about how this effect varies through adulthood as a function of reading skill. In this study, Participants 18-64 years old with a range of literacy competence read simple sentences as their eye movements were monitored. We manipulated the predictability of a sentence-final target word, operationalized as cloze probability. First fixation durations showed an interaction between age and literacy skill, decreasing with age among more skilled readers but increasing among less skilled readers. This pattern suggests that age-related slowing may impact reading when not buffered by skill, but with continued practice, automatization of reading can continue to develop in adulthood. In absolute terms, readers were sensitive to predictability, regardless of age or literacy, in both early and later measures. Older readers showed differential contextual sensitivity in regression patterns, effects not moderated by literacy skill. Finally, comprehension performance increased with age and literacy skill, but performance among less skilled readers was especially reduced when predictability was low, suggesting that low-literacy adults (regardless of age) struggle when creating mental representations under weaker semantic constraints. Collectively, these findings suggest that aging readers (regardless of reading skill) are more sensitive to context for meaning-integration processes; that less skilled adult readers (regardless of age) depend more on a constrained semantic representation for comprehension; and that the capacity for literacy engagement enables continued development of efficient lexical processing in adult reading development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Adults with poor reading skills: How lexical knowledge interacts with scores on standardized reading comprehension tests

    PubMed Central

    McKoon, Gail; Ratcliff, Roger

    2016-01-01

    Millions of adults in the United States lack the necessary literacy skills for most living wage jobs. For students from adult learning classes, we used a lexical decision task to measure their knowledge of words and we used a decision-making model (Ratcliff’s, 1978, diffusion model) to abstract the mechanisms underlying their performance from their RTs and accuracy. We also collected scores for each participant on standardized IQ tests and standardized reading tests used commonly in the education literature. We found significant correlations between the model’s estimates of the strengths with which words are represented in memory and scores for some of the standardized tests but not others. The findings point to the feasibility and utility of combining a test of word knowledge, lexical decision, that is well-established in psycholinguistic research, a decision-making model that supplies information about underlying mechanisms, and standardized tests. The goal for future research is to use this combination of approaches to understand better how basic processes relate to standardized tests with the eventual aim of understanding what these tests are measuring and what the specific difficulties are for individual, low-literacy adults. PMID:26550803

  3. Adults with poor reading skills: How lexical knowledge interacts with scores on standardized reading comprehension tests.

    PubMed

    McKoon, Gail; Ratcliff, Roger

    2016-01-01

    Millions of adults in the United States lack the necessary literacy skills for most living wage jobs. For students from adult learning classes, we used a lexical decision task to measure their knowledge of words and we used a decision-making model (Ratcliff's, 1978, diffusion model) to abstract the mechanisms underlying their performance from their RTs and accuracy. We also collected scores for each participant on standardized IQ tests and standardized reading tests used commonly in the education literature. We found significant correlations between the model's estimates of the strengths with which words are represented in memory and scores for some of the standardized tests but not others. The findings point to the feasibility and utility of combining a test of word knowledge, lexical decision, that is well-established in psycholinguistic research, a decision-making model that supplies information about underlying mechanisms, and standardized tests. The goal for future research is to use this combination of approaches to understand better how basic processes relate to standardized tests with the eventual aim of understanding what these tests are measuring and what the specific difficulties are for individual, low-literacy adults. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Vocational Education and Training for Adult Prisoners and Offenders in Australia. Research Readings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dawe, Susan, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    This book of research readings provides clear evidence that adult prisoners and offenders who participate in vocational education and training (VET) during their sentence are less likely to re-offend. A reduction in recidivism represents significant cost savings to the community. The book highlights recent improvements in the delivery of VET for…

  5. Delivery style moderates study habits in an online nutrition class.

    PubMed

    Connors, Priscilla

    2013-03-01

    To report how the design of an online class affected student ability to stay on task, find critical resources, and communicate with the instructor via e-mail. Audiorecorded focus group meetings at a United States university featured a structured approach to discussions among undergraduate students enrolled in an Internet nutrition class. Meeting transcripts were read and reread by a trained investigator, who coded concepts until themes coalesced, which were authenticated by college students taking online classes. Three themes emerged that described factors moderating study habits in an Internet nutrition course: keeping up, e-mail fatigue, and wayfinding. A well-designed online course plans for productive study habits by posting a schedule of events and maintaining a predictable pattern, supporting navigation that stimulates exploration and return visits to critical information, and constructing e-mail messages that convey a concise message and maximize "open and read." Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Using a Multidimensional Measure of Resilience to Explain Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Adults with Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stack-Cutler, Holly L.; Parrila, Rauno K.; Torppa, Minna

    2015-01-01

    We assessed the impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal resilience, persistence, and number of difficulties in addition to reading problems on life satisfaction (general, social, and self) and academic achievement. A total of 120 adults with reading difficulties who either were completing a university degree or were recent graduates responded to…

  7. Global Processing Speed in Children with Low Reading Ability and in Children and Adults with Typical Reading Ability: Exploratory Factor Analytic Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peter, Beate; Matsushita, Mark; Raskind, Wendy H.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate processing speed as a latent dimension in children with dyslexia and children and adults with typical reading skills. Method: Exploratory factor analysis (FA) was based on a sample of multigenerational families, each ascertained through a child with dyslexia. Eleven measures--6 of them timed--represented verbal and…

  8. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Habitable zone code (Valle+, 2014)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valle, G.; Dell'Omodarme, M.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Degl'Innocenti, S.

    2014-06-01

    A C computation code that provide in output the distance dm (i for which the duration of habitability is longest, the corresponding duration tm (in Gyr), the width W (in AU) of the zone for which the habitability lasts tm/2, the inner (Ri) and outer (Ro) boundaries of the 4Gyr continuously habitable zone. The code read the input file HZ-input.dat, containing in each row the mass of the host star (range: 0.70-1.10M⊙), its metallicity (either Z (range: 0.005-0.004) or [Fe/H]), the helium-to-metal enrichment ratio (range: 1-3, standard value = 2), the equilibrium temperature for habitable zone outer boundary computation (range: 169-203K) and the planet Bond Albedo (range: 0.0-1.0, Earth = 0.3). The output is printed on-screen. Compilation: just use your favorite C compiler: gcc hz.c -lm -o HZ (2 data files).

  9. Reading aids for adults with low vision

    PubMed Central

    Virgili, Gianni; Acosta, Ruthy; Grover, Lori L; Bentley, Sharon A; Giacomelli, Giovanni

    2014-01-01

    Background The purpose of low-vision rehabilitation is to allow people to resume or to continue to perform daily living tasks, with reading being one of the most important. This is achieved by providing appropriate optical devices and special training in the use of residual-vision and low-vision aids, which range from simple optical magnifiers to high-magnification video magnifiers. Objectives To assess the effects of reading aids for adults with low vision. Search methods We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 1), Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE Daily, Ovid OLDMEDLINE, (January 1950 to January 2013), EMBASE (January 1980 to January 2013), Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) (January 1982 to January 2013), OpenGrey (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe) (www.opengrey.eu/), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) (www.controlled-trials.com), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov/) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en). We did not use any date or language restrictions in the electronic searches for trials. We last searched the electronic databases on 31 January 2013. We searched the reference lists of relevant articles and used the Science Citation Index to find articles that cited the included studies and contacted investigators and manufacturers of low-vision aids. We handsearched the British Journal of Visual Impairment from 1983 to 1999 and the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness from 1976 to 1991. Selection criteria This review includes randomised and quasi-randomised trials in which any device or aid used for reading had been compared to another device or aid in people aged 16 or over with low vision as defined by the study investigators. Data collection and analysis At least two authors independently

  10. An Annotated Bibliography of Research on Reading and Adults Learning English as a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burt, Miriam, Comp.; Florez, MaryAnn, Comp.; Terrill, Lynda, Comp.; Van Duzer, Carol, Comp.

    This annotated bibliography contains 27 references regarding research on reading and adults learning English as a Second Language (ESL). None of the resources are more than 10 years old. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (KFT)

  11. A School Policy for Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Medwell, Jane

    1992-01-01

    Offers a school policy for reading, arrived at as a product of a whole school inservice program. Discusses word recognition, sound-symbol correspondence, prediction, classroom environment, reading with an adult, parents and reading, assessment of reading, and reading material selection. (RS)

  12. Extensive Graded Reading with Engineering Students: Effects and Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hagley, Eric

    2017-01-01

    Extensive graded reading (EGR) was carried out with a cohort of 600 engineering students in a university in northern Japan. Pre-and post-surveys were conducted to discover changes in the general reading habits of students, their attitudes toward the assessment method and how goals changed over the course of study. The first survey was carried out…

  13. Mind-wandering in younger and older adults: converging evidence from the Sustained Attention to Response Task and reading for comprehension.

    PubMed

    Jackson, Jonathan D; Balota, David A

    2012-03-01

    One mechanism that has been hypothesized to contribute to older adults' changes in cognitive performance is goal neglect or impairment in maintaining task set across time. Mind-wandering and task-unrelated thought may underlie these potential age-related changes. The present study investigated age-related changes in mind-wandering in three different versions of the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), along with self-reported mind-wandering during a reading for comprehension task. In the SART, both younger and older adults produced similar levels of faster reaction times before No-Go errors of commission, whereas, older adults produced disproportionate post-error slowing. Subjective self-reports of mind-wandering recorded during the SART and the reading task indicated that older adults were less likely to report mind-wandering than younger adults. Discussion focuses on cognitive and motivational mechanisms that may account for older adults' relatively low levels of reported mind-wandering.

  14. Read On! II. A Sequential Reading Series. Instructor's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawson, V. K.; And Others

    This guide is intended for use by teachers and tutors who are using the assisted reading method to teach reading to adult learners. The introduction describes the contents of the guide and the other materials in the Read On! II series, i.e., six textbooks, six workbooks, and a set of tutor resource sheets for use with learners at the beginning…

  15. Methodological Variables in Choral Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poore, Meredith A.; Ferguson, Sarah Hargus

    2008-01-01

    This preliminary study explored changes in prosodic variability during choral reading and investigated whether these changes are affected by the method of eliciting choral reading. Ten typical adult talkers recorded three reading materials (poetry, fiction and textbook) in three reading conditions: solo (reading aloud alone), track (reading aloud…

  16. Are late-night eating habits and sleep duration associated with glycemic control in adult type 1 diabetes patients treated with insulin pumps?

    PubMed

    Matejko, Bartlomiej; Kiec-Wilk, Beata; Szopa, Magdalena; Trznadel Morawska, Iwona; Malecki, Maciej T; Klupa, Tomasz

    2015-07-01

    Little is known about the impact of sleep duration and late-night snacking on glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes using insulin pumps. The aim of the present study was to examine whether late-night eating habits and short sleep duration are associated with glycemic control in continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion-treated type 1 diabetic patients. We included 148 consecutive adult type 1 diabetic subjects using an insulin pump (100 women and 48 men). Participants completed a questionnaire regarding sleep duration (classified as short if ≤6 h) and late-night snacking. Other sources of information included medical records and data from blood glucose meters. Glycemic control was assessed by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and mean self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) readings. The mean age of patients was 26 years, mean type 1 diabetes duration was 13.4 years and mean HbA1c level was 7.2%. In a univariate regression analysis, sleep duration was a predictor of both HbA1c (β = 0.51, P = 0.01) and SMBG levels (β = 11.4, P = 0.02). Additionally, an association was found between frequent late-night snacking and higher SMBG readings (often snacking β = 18.1, P = 0.05), but not with increased HbA1c levels. In the multivariate linear regression, independent predictors for HbA1c and SMBG were sleep duration and patient age. In a univariate logistic regression, sleep duration and frequency of late-night snacking were not predictors of whether HbA1c target levels were achieved. Short sleep duration, but not late-night snacking, seems to be associated with poorer glycemic control in type 1 diabetic patients treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.

  17. Introduction to a Good Reading Habit.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York Times Co., NY.

    The purpose of the project outlined in this booklet is to enable upper elementary students to become familiar with the various departments of "The New York Times," to cope with headlines and lead paragraphs, and to develop a genuine interest in an adult newspaper. A general outline of the project by the teacher is provided, followed by…

  18. The National Adult Reading Test: restandardisation against the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth edition.

    PubMed

    Bright, Peter; Hale, Emily; Gooch, Vikki Jayne; Myhill, Thomas; van der Linde, Ian

    2018-09-01

    Since publication in 1982, the 50-item National Adult Reading Test (NART; Nelson, 1982; NART-R; Nelson & Willison, 1991) has remained a widely adopted method for estimating premorbid intelligence both for clinical and research purposes. However, the NART has not been standardised against the most recent revisions of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III; Wechsler, 1997, and WAIS-IV; Wechsler, 2008). Our objective, therefore, was to produce reliable standardised estimates of WAIS-IV IQ from the NART. Ninety-two neurologically healthy British adults were assessed and regression equations calculated to produce population estimates of WAIS-IV full-scale IQ (FSIQ) and constituent index scores. Results showed strong NART/WAIS-IV FSIQ correlations with more moderate correlations observed between NART error and constituent index scores. FSIQ estimates were closely similar to the published WAIS and WAIS-R estimates at the high end of the distribution, but at the lower end were approximately equidistant from the highly discrepant WAIS (low) and WAIS-R (high) values. We conclude that the NART is likely to remain an important tool for estimating the impact of neurological damage on general cognitive ability. We advise caution in the use of older published WAIS and/or WAIS-R estimates for estimating premorbid WAIS-IV FSIQ, particularly for those with low NART scores.

  19. Raising the Quality of Discussion by Scaffolding Students' Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    West, Jane

    2018-01-01

    Many college students fall into the habit of coming to class unprepared, without having read assigned texts, or having read partially and superficially. As a consequence, they may take a passive stance, discussion can fall flat, and learning can be diminished. This article describes an instructional strategy for engaging students as active…

  20. Enablement, Constraint, and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carlone, David

    2001-01-01

    Uses interviews to examine how the self-help book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" shapes the identity of organization members who read and use the book. Suggests that such people are simultaneously enabled and constrained as they confront tensions between individualism and community, competition and cooperation, and domination and…

  1. Smoking Habits and Body Weight Over the Adult Lifespan in Postmenopausal Women.

    PubMed

    Kabat, Geoffrey C; Heo, Moonseong; Allison, Matthew; Johnson, Karen C; Ho, Gloria Y F; Tindle, Hilary A; Asao, Keiko; LaMonte, Michael J; Giovino, Gary A; Rohan, Thomas E

    2017-03-01

    The inter-relationships between smoking habits and weight gain are complex. However, few studies have examined the association of smoking habits with weight gain over the life course. Major smoking parameters and weight gain over time were examined in a large cohort of postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years at enrollment between 1993 and 1998 (N=161,808) and followed through 2014 (analyses conducted in 2016). Cross-sectional analyses were used to assess the association of smoking and body weight at baseline. Retrospective data were used to correlate smoking status with body weight over a 45-year period prior to enrollment. In addition, the association of smoking with weight gain over 6 years of follow-up was examined. At baseline, women who had quit smoking prior to enrollment weighed 4.7 kg more than current smokers and 2.6 kg more than never smokers. Former, never, and current smokers all gained weight over the 45-year period from age 18 years to time of enrollment (average age, 63 years): 16.8, 16.4, and 14.6 kg, respectively. In prospective analyses, women who were current smokers at baseline but who quit smoking during follow-up gained more than 5 kg by Year 6 compared with current smokers at baseline who continued to smoke. Among long-term quitters, greater intensity of smoking and more recent quitting were associated with greater weight gain. These results suggest that excess weight gain associated with smoking cessation occurs soon after quitting and is modest relative to weight gain in never smokers over the adult lifespan. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Adult age differences in information foraging in an interactive reading environment.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xiaomei; Chin, Jessie; Payne, Brennan R; Fu, Wai-Tat; Morrow, Daniel G; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L

    2016-05-01

    When learning about a single topic in natural reading environments, readers are confronted with multiple sources varying in the type and amount of information. In this situation, readers are free to adaptively respond to the constraints of the environment (e.g., through selection of resources and time allocation for study), but there may be costs of exploring and switching between sources (e.g., disruption of attention, opportunity costs for study). From an ecological perspective, such properties of the environment are expected to influence learning strategies. In the current study, we used a novel reading paradigm to investigate age differences in the effects of information richness (i.e., sentence elaboration) and costs of switching between texts (i.e., time delay) on selection of sources and study time allocation. Consistent with the ecological view, participants progressed from less informative to more informative texts. Furthermore, increased switch cost led to a tendency to allocate more effort to easier materials and to greater persistence in reading, which in turn, led to better memory in both immediate and delayed recall. Older adults showed larger effects of switch cost, such that the age difference in delayed recall was eliminated in the high switch cost condition. Based on an ecological paradigm of reading that affords choice and self-regulation, our study provided evidence for preservation with age in the ability to adapt to changing learning environments so as to improve performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Reading in the brain of children and adults: A meta‐analysis of 40 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

    PubMed Central

    Martin, Anna; Schurz, Matthias; Kronbichler, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Abstract We used quantitative, coordinate‐based meta‐analysis to objectively synthesize age‐related commonalities and differences in brain activation patterns reported in 40 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of reading in children and adults. Twenty fMRI studies with adults (age means: 23–34 years) were matched to 20 studies with children (age means: 7–12 years). The separate meta‐analyses of these two sets showed a pattern of reading‐related brain activation common to children and adults in left ventral occipito‐temporal (OT), inferior frontal, and posterior parietal regions. The direct statistical comparison between the two meta‐analytic maps of children and adults revealed higher convergence in studies with children in left superior temporal and bilateral supplementary motor regions. In contrast, higher convergence in studies with adults was identified in bilateral posterior OT/cerebellar and left dorsal precentral regions. The results are discussed in relation to current neuroanatomical models of reading and tentative functional interpretations of reading‐related activation clusters in children and adults are provided. Hum Brain Mapp 36:1963–1981, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.. PMID:25628041

  4. Reading to Children and Listening to Children Read: Mother-Child Interactions as a Function of Principal Reader

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin-Chang, Sandra; Gould, Odette N.

    2012-01-01

    Research Findings: Although storybook reading has received considerable research attention, listening to children read has been the source of much less inquiry. In this study, 40 mother-child dyads were videotaped during adult-to-child and child-to-adult reading. Relations between book-related themes (e.g., types of talk), maternal evaluative…

  5. Postural habits of young adults and possibilities of modification.

    PubMed

    Nowotny-Czupryna, Olga; Czupryna, Krzysztof; Bąk, Krzysztof; Wróblewska, Ewa; Rottermund, Jerzy

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess postural habits in young, healthy people, identify correlations between postural errors and pain and attempt to modify bad habits. 144 people, aged 18-23 were enrolled. The intervention consisted of 4 stages: Stage 1 - identification of postural habits, description of responses to stress, back pain frequency and intensity (Jackson & Moskowitz); Stage 2 - correction of habitual position with the help of a physiotherapist, briefing about ergonomic everyday behaviours and consequences of continued non-ergonomic behaviours, Stage 3 - follow-up examination: self-assessment of changes, evaluation of the effects of modifications, determination of causes for discontinuing the behaviour modification programme, where applicable; and Stage 4 - final examination, assessment of results. Correlations were sought between inappropriate postural behaviour in various positions and between non-ergonomic postural behaviour and pain location and response to stress. Statistical analysis was carried out with Excel and Statistica v. 7.1. A non-parametric χ(2) test was used at p<0.005. All participants presented poor postural patterns in the standing, sitting and recumbent position. Back pain was reported by half of the participants. Statistically significant relationships between pain and habitual positions were noted with regard to the cervical and lumbar spine and also for abdominal pain as a response to stress in people with excessive thoracic kyphosis. Behaviour modifications caused or intensified lumbar pain or thigh muscle pain. Positive outcomes included better urination and/or defecation and greater comfort in assuming the different positions and performing activities of daily living in these positions. Some examinees discontinued behaviour modification during the first month after the initial instruction and the majority did so over the next three months. 1. Non-ergonomic postural behaviours are common among young people. 2. Changing the body

  6. Evaluating the Relationship between Teacher Credential Students' Ability to Read and Their Interest in Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cockerham, Barbara Jean

    2013-01-01

    Teacher enthusiasm for reading has considerable influence on students' reading interest and reading ability. The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between reading ability and reading interest among adults who plan to become teachers. This study tested whether there is a relationship between reading ability as measured…

  7. "On the Hurricane Deck of a Mule": Teaching Adults To Read Using Language-Experience and Oral History Techniques.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bear, Donald R.

    Designed to instruct adult literacy teachers in using Language-Experience and Oral History techniques and distributed statewide to teachers in Nevada, this manual presents reading materials, diagnostic packages, and guidelines for adult literacy program organization. The first of three chapters begins with an introduction to the manual, and…

  8. How Does Speed and Accuracy in Reading Relate to Reading Comprehension in Arabic?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abu-Leil, Aula Khateeb; Share, David L.; Ibrahim, Raphiq

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential contribution of decoding efficiency to the development of reading comprehension among skilled adult native Arabic speakers. In addition, we tried to investigate the influence of Arabic vowels on reading accuracy, reading speed, and therefore to reading comprehension. Seventy-five Arabic…

  9. A study investigating the travel habits and preferences of older Australian adults with a falls risk.

    PubMed

    McCluskey, Annie; Thurtell, Andrew; Clemson, Lindy; Kendig, Hal

    2011-12-01

      To investigate the travel habits and preferences of city-dwelling older Australians with a falls risk, and factors influencing outings.   A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted with 96 community-dwelling adults with a falls risk.   The mean age of participants was 78.2 years (SD 5.33). The majority were women (77%). Most (75%) went on five or more outings per week (mean 6.9 outings). Men drove more than women (41% vs 31%). Shopping was the most common reason for outings. Walking was the most frequent mode of travel, and buses were both the easiest and most difficult. Factors that enabled bus travel included bus stop location, good services and cheap fares. Primary reasons for restricting outings were poor health, transport barriers, neighbourhood safety and personal motivation.   These older adults went out nearly every day. Findings can be used to improve transport services for older people. © 2010 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing © 2010 ACOTA.

  10. Reading disability and adult attained education and income: evidence from a 30-year longitudinal study of a population-based sample.

    PubMed

    McLaughlin, Margaret J; Speirs, Katherine E; Shenassa, Edmond D

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the impact of childhood reading disability (RD) on adult educational attainment and income. Participants' (N = 1,344) RD was assessed at age 7, and adult educational attainment and income were assessed in midlife using categorical variables. Participants with RD at age 7 were 74% (95% CI: 0.18, 0.37) less likely to attain a higher level of education and 56% (95% CI: 0.32, 0.61) less likely to attain a higher level of income as an adult than participants with average or above reading achievement at age 7. Attained education was found to mediate the relationship between RD and attained income. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2012.

  11. Red Cloud Reading Test: American Indian Form of the Test of Individual Needs in Reading, a Competency Based Test of Reading Skills [and] Instructor's Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gilliland, Hap

    The oral Red Cloud Reading Test provides a complete analysis of reading level and skills for American Indian students in grades 1-7 or for high school and adult students reading at or below high school levels. The test determines the basic and recreational reading levels, identifies reading problems, determines reading speeds, and analyzes the…

  12. The Effect of Interactive CD-ROM/Digitized Audio Courseware on Reading among Low-Literate Adults.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gretes, John A.; Green, Michael

    1994-01-01

    Compares a multimedia adult literacy instructional course, Reading to Educate and Develop Yourself (READY), to traditional classroom instruction by studying effects of replacing conventional learning tools with computer-assisted instruction (CD-ROMs and audio software). Results reveal that READY surpassed traditional instruction for virtually…

  13. Extracurricular Reading Habits of College Students in Taiwan: Findings from Two National Surveys

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Su-Yen

    2007-01-01

    The Chinese people have great regard for those who read widely, yet little is known of the extracurricular reading behaviors of Chinese students. This study drew on data from two national surveys to investigate the amount of time Taiwanese college students spend on extracurricular reading. Findings are interpreted in relation to prior research on…

  14. "I Just Didn't Have Enough Time..." Assisting the Busy Adult Learner Develop Critical Reading and Thinking Skills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diaz-Lefebvre, Rene

    Several factors are related to adult students' completion or noncompletion of reading assignments before class--lack of study time, their motivation for taking college classes, their need to feel involved in the learning process, and their expectations for success in the classroom. One of the biggest fears of adults returning to a school…

  15. Collaborative evaluation of the healthy habits program: an effective community intervention to improve mobility and cognition of Chinese older adults living in the U.S

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Objectives: There is a growing demand to reduce ethnic health disparities. The Healthy Habits Program (HHP) was implemented to provide a community-based physical activity and education intervention for Chinese older adults living in Boston, Massachusetts. This study evaluated the HHP by assessing ou...

  16. Adult age differences in wrap-up during sentence comprehension: evidence from ex-Gaussian distributional analyses of reading time.

    PubMed

    Payne, Brennan R; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L

    2014-06-01

    We report a secondary data analysis investigating age differences in the effects of clause and sentence wrap-up on reading time distributions during sentence comprehension. Residual word-by-word self-paced reading times were fit to the ex-Gaussian distribution to examine age differences in the effects of clause and sentence wrap-up on both the location and shape of participants' reaction time (RT) distributions. The ex-Gaussian distribution showed good fit to the data in both younger and older adults. Sentence wrap-up increased the central tendency, the variability, and the tail of the distribution, and these effects were exaggerated among the old. In contrast, clause wrap-up influenced the tail of the distribution only, and did so differentially for older adults. Effects were confirmed via nonparametric vincentile plots. Individual differences in visual acuity, working memory, speed of processing, and verbal ability were differentially related to ex-Gaussian parameters reflecting wrap-up effects on underlying reading time distributions. These findings argue against simple pause mechanisms to explain end-of-clause and end-of-sentence reading time patterns; rather, the findings are consistent with a cognitively effortful view of wrap-up and suggest that age and individual differences in attentional allocation to semantic integration during reading, as revealed by RT distribution analyses, play an important role in sentence understanding. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  17. An examination of sex differences in relation to the eating habits and nutrient intakes of university students.

    PubMed

    Li, Kin-Kit; Concepcion, Rebecca Y; Lee, Hyo; Cardinal, Bradley J; Ebbeck, Vicki; Woekel, Erica; Readdy, R Tucker

    2012-01-01

    To examine sex differences in eating habits and nutrient intakes and explore whether eating habits mediate the effects of sex on nutrient intakes and whether sex moderates the effects of eating habits on nutrient intakes. Cross-sectional survey of eating habits and food-intake frequency in a convenience sample of college students. Male students (n = 172) consumed a higher energy content from fat, a larger amount of fiber, and more fruits and vegetables, and engaged less often in various healthful eating habits (eg, reading food labels, having breakfast) than female students (n = 316). Sex predicted the 3 dietary nutrient intakes partially through eating habits. Interactions between sex and eating habits were nonsignificant. Results reinforce that university students' nutrient intakes are less than ideal. Women and men may have different needs for nutritional improvement. However, the effects of health promotion concerning eating habits may be similarly effective between the sexes. Copyright © 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Reading Habits of Third-Year Medical Students during an Integrated Endocrinology Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedberg, Mark; Mahanaimi, David; Lev-Zion, Rafael; Sidi, Aviel; Glick, Shimon

    1998-01-01

    Independent reading by medical students beyond formal classroom activities is considered central to medical education. This study examines self-directed study among third-year students in a six-year medical program. Students averaged 151 minutes daily on independent study using lecture notes, textbooks, and reading articles. Suggests ways to…

  19. Tooth brushing habits in uninstructed adults--frequency, technique, duration and force.

    PubMed

    Ganss, C; Schlueter, N; Preiss, S; Klimek, J

    2009-06-01

    Professional recommendations for individual oral hygiene mostly include tooth brushing at least twice daily for 2-3 min with gentle force using the Bass technique or modifications of it. This study evaluated whether habitual tooth brushing actually meets these standards. Uninstructed adults (n = 103; mean age 31 +/- 6 years; 61 female, 42 male) with habitual manual tooth brushing were given a self-administered questionnaire about the frequency of brushing and a computer system recorded their brushing technique, duration and force. The majority (79.6%) of participants brushed twice daily. The mean brushing duration was 96.6 +/- 36.0 s, the mean brushing force was 2.3 +/- 0.7 N (max. 4.1 N), and no significant differences were found for quadrants. Most subjects (73.8%) brushed with circling, 8.7% with horizontal/scrubbing, 13.6% with horizontal/circling and 3.9% with vertical/sweeping movements. Modified Bass technique was not observed. When appropriate brushing habits were defined as brushing at least twice daily for 120 s with a brushing force of less than 3 N and with circling or vertical sweeping movements, only 25.2% of the participants fulfilled all criteria, emphasising the ongoing need for oral hygiene education.

  20. Healthy habits: efficacy of simple advice on weight control based on a habit-formation model.

    PubMed

    Lally, P; Chipperfield, A; Wardle, J

    2008-04-01

    To evaluate the efficacy of a simple weight loss intervention, based on principles of habit formation. An exploratory trial in which overweight and obese adults were randomized either to a habit-based intervention condition (with two subgroups given weekly vs monthly weighing; n=33, n=36) or to a waiting-list control condition (n=35) over 8 weeks. Intervention participants were followed up for 8 months. A total of 104 adults (35 men, 69 women) with an average BMI of 30.9 kg m(-2). Intervention participants were given a leaflet containing advice on habit formation and simple recommendations for eating and activity behaviours promoting negative energy balance, together with a self-monitoring checklist. Weight change over 8 weeks in the intervention condition compared with the control condition and weight loss maintenance over 32 weeks in the intervention condition. At 8 weeks, people in the intervention condition had lost significantly more weight (mean=2.0 kg) than those in the control condition (0.4 kg), with no difference between weekly and monthly weighing subgroups. At 32 weeks, those who remained in the study had lost an average of 3.8 kg, with 54% losing 5% or more of their body weight. An intention-to-treat analysis (based on last-observation-carried-forward) reduced this to 2.6 kg, with 26% achieving a 5% weight loss. This easily disseminable, low-cost, simple intervention produced clinically significant weight loss. In limited resource settings it has potential as a tool for obesity management.

  1. Participants in Adult Basic Skills Classes Using Intertextual and Metacognitive Skills and Strategies to Aid Reading Comprehension and Written Expression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacMonagle, William Peter

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to seek evidence of awareness of metacognitive processes and intertextuality in the reading comprehension of students in an adult basic education class. Its purpose was to interweave several strands of research investigation and theory to explain the reading and writing capabilities of a representative population…

  2. Understanding Performance Decrements in a Letter-Canceling Task: Overcoming Habits or Inhibition of Reading.

    PubMed

    Myers, Larry; Downie, Steven; Taylor, Grant; Marrington, Jessica; Tehan, Gerald; Ireland, Michael J

    2018-01-01

    The importance of self-regulation in human behavior is readily apparent and diverse theoretical accounts for explaining self-regulation failures have been proposed. Typically, these accounts are based on a sequential task methodology where an initial task is presented to deplete self-regulatory resources, and carryover effects are then examined on a second outcome task. In the aftermath of high profile replication failures using a popular letter-crossing task as a means of depleting self-regulatory resources and subsequent criticisms of that task, current research into self-control is currently at an impasse. This is largely due to the lack of empirical research that tests explicit assumptions regarding the initial task. One such untested assumption is that for resource depletion to occur, the initial task must first establish an habitual response and then this habitual response must be inhibited, with behavioral inhibition being the causal factor in inducing depletion. This study reports on four experiments exploring performance on a letter-canceling task, where the rules for target identification remained constant but the method of responding differed (Experiment 1) and the coherence of the text was manipulated (Experiments 1-4). Experiment 1 established that habit forming and behavioral inhibition did not produce any performance decrement when the targets were embedded in random letter strings. Experiments 2-4 established that target detection was sensitive to language characteristics and the coherence of the background text, suggesting that participants' automatic reading processes is a key driver of performance in the letter-e task.

  3. Two Wheels are Better than One: The Importance of Capturing the Home Literacy Environment in Large-Scale Assessments of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dowd, Amy Jo; Pisani, Lauren

    2013-01-01

    Children's reading skill development is influenced by availability of reading materials, reading habits and opportunity to read. Save the Children's Literacy Boost data have replicated this finding across numerous developing contexts. Meanwhile international large-scale reading assessments do not capture detail on current home literacy. The…

  4. 'On Your Feet to Earn Your Seat', a habit-based intervention to reduce sedentary behaviour in older adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Gardner, Benjamin; Thuné-Boyle, Ingela; Iliffe, Steve; Fox, Kenneth R; Jefferis, Barbara J; Hamer, Mark; Tyler, Nick; Wardle, Jane

    2014-09-20

    Many older adults are both highly sedentary (that is, spend considerable amounts of time sitting) and physically inactive (that is, do little physical activity). This protocol describes an exploratory trial of a theory-based behaviour change intervention in the form of a booklet outlining simple activities ('tips') designed both to reduce sedentary behaviour and to increase physical activity in older adults. The intervention is based on the 'habit formation' model, which proposes that consistent repetition leads to behaviour becoming automatic, sustaining activity gains over time. The intervention is being developed iteratively, in line with Medical Research Council complex intervention guidelines. Selection of activity tips was informed by semi-structured interviews and focus groups with older adults, and input from a multidisciplinary expert panel. An ongoing preliminary field test of acceptability among 25 older adults will inform further refinement. An exploratory randomized controlled trial will be conducted within a primary care setting, comparing the tips booklet with a control fact sheet. Retired, inactive and sedentary adults (n = 120) aged 60 to 74 years, with no physical impairments precluding light physical activity, will be recruited from general practices in north London, UK. The primary outcomes are recruitment and attrition rates. Secondary outcomes are changes in behaviour, habit, health and wellbeing over 12 weeks. Data will be used to inform study procedures for a future, larger-scale definitive randomized controlled trial. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN47901994.

  5. Is performance on the Wechsler test of adult reading affected by traumatic brain injury?

    PubMed

    Mathias, J L; Bowden, S C; Bigler, E D; Rosenfeld, J V

    2007-11-01

    The validity of the National Adult Reading Test (NART) as a predictor of premorbid IQ when used with patients who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been questioned in recent years. This study examined whether performance on the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) is similarly affected by TBI in the first year after an injury. The WTAR scores of participants who had sustained a mild TBI (N=82), moderate TBI (N=73), severe TBI (N=61) or an orthopaedic injury (N=95) were compared (cross-sectional study). A subset of 21 mild TBI, 31 moderate TBI, 26 severe TBI and 21 control group participants were additionally reassessed 6 months later to assess the impact of recovery on WTAR scores (longitudinal study). The severe TBI group had significantly lower scores on the WTAR than the mild TBI, moderate TBI and control groups in the cross-sectional study, despite being matched demographically. The findings from the longitudinal study revealed a significant group difference and a small improvement in performance over time but the interaction between group and time was not significant, suggesting that the improvements in WTAR performance over time were not restricted to more severely injured individuals whose performance was temporarily suppressed. These findings suggest that reading performance may be affected by severe TBI and that the WTAR may underestimate premorbid IQ when used in this context, which may cause clinicians to underestimate the cognitive deficits experienced by these patients.

  6. "Manga" Literacy: Popular Culture and the Reading Habits of Japanese College Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Kate; Ingulsrud, John E.

    2003-01-01

    Notes that "manga"--Japanese comics--constitute the most popular kind of reading material in Japan. Discusses the skills needed to read manga. Surveys 297 Japanese college students. Suggests that many manga readers can be considered engaged readers as they are highly motivated and have developed a range of strategies to help them…

  7. Dialogic Reading. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2010

    2010-01-01

    Dialogic reading is an interactive shared picture-book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult, who functions as an active listener and questioner.…

  8. Eating habits of preschool children and the risk of obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in adults.

    PubMed

    Kostecka, Małgorzata

    2014-01-01

    Background & Objective : Nutrient excess and nutrient deficiency in the diets of preschool children can lead to permanent modification of metabolic pathways and increased risk of diet-dependent diseases in adults. Children are most susceptible to the adverse consequences of bad eating habits.The objective of this study was to evaluate the eating habits and the diets of preschool children as risk factors for excessive weight, obesity, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Methods : The study was conducted on 350 randomly selected preschool children attending kindergartens in south-eastern Poland. Three-day dietary recalls were processed and evaluated in the Dieta 5 application. Results : The analyzed diets were characterized by low diversity and a high share of processed foods, such as pate, sausages, ketchup, mayonnaise, fried meat, French fries and fast-food. The dietary content of vegetables, raw fruit, dairy products and whole grain products was alarmingly low. Conclusions : Diets characterized by excessive energy value and nutritional deficiency can lead to health problems. In most cases, excessive weight gain in children can be blamed on parents and caretakers who are not aware of the health consequences of high-calorie foods rich in fats and sugar.

  9. Effects of the Paraphrasing Strategy on Expository Reading Comprehension of Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hua, Youjia; Woods-Groves, Suzanne; Ford, Jeremy W.; Nobles, Kelly A.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching a three-step paraphrasing strategy on expository reading comprehension of young adults with intellectual disability. Ten learners from a postsecondary education program for individuals with disability participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to the control and…

  10. Teaching Reading to the Disadvantaged Adult.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dinnan, James A.; Ulmer, Curtis, Ed.

    This manual is designed to assess the background of the individual and to bring him to the stage of unlocking the symbolic codes called Reading and Mathematics. The manual begins with Introduction to a Symbolic Code (The Thinking Process and The Key to Learning Basis), and continues with Basic Reading Skills (Readiness, Visual Discrimination,…

  11. Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

    PubMed Central

    Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2016-01-01

    This study extended the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) by investigating the predictive utility of separate dimensions of morphological awareness as well as vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension in adult basic education (ABE) students. We competed two- and three-factor structural equation models of reading comprehension. A three-factor model of real word morphological awareness, pseudoword morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge emerged as the best fit and accounted for 79% of the reading comprehension variance. The results indicated that the constructs contributed jointly to reading comprehension; however, vocabulary knowledge was the only potentially unique predictor (p = 0.052), accounting for an additional 5.6% of the variance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying a latent variable modeling approach to examine individual differences in the reading comprehension skills of ABE students. Further, this study replicates the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) on the importance of differentiating among dimensions of morphological awareness in this population. PMID:26869981

  12. Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students.

    PubMed

    Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2016-01-01

    This study extended the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) by investigating the predictive utility of separate dimensions of morphological awareness as well as vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension in adult basic education (ABE) students. We competed two- and three-factor structural equation models of reading comprehension. A three-factor model of real word morphological awareness, pseudoword morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge emerged as the best fit and accounted for 79% of the reading comprehension variance. The results indicated that the constructs contributed jointly to reading comprehension; however, vocabulary knowledge was the only potentially unique predictor (p = 0.052), accounting for an additional 5.6% of the variance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying a latent variable modeling approach to examine individual differences in the reading comprehension skills of ABE students. Further, this study replicates the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) on the importance of differentiating among dimensions of morphological awareness in this population.

  13. Every Day We're Shufflin': Empowering Students during In-School Independent Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Katrina W.; Hedrick, Wanda B.; Williams, Lunetta M.

    2014-01-01

    Research in the field of literacy has identified choice as a key component affecting students' reading habits and their resulting literacy growth. This article discusses an in-school independent reading project in which students are provided the freedom to choose books, use ambient music, and engage in book talks. The children showed increased…

  14. Interactive Shared Book Reading. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

    2007-01-01

    "Interactive Shared Book Reading" is a general practice that adults may use when reading with children and is intended to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. Typically, "Interactive Shared Book Reading" involves an adult reading a book to a child or a small group of children and using a variety of techniques…

  15. Characteristic Reading Problems of Adult Illiterates. Report Number 3. Summary Reports of Paths to Literacy and Illiteracy in Newfoundland and Labrador.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beebe, Mona

    A study examined the reading problems of adults in Newfoundland (Canada) with low reading ability. It explored the genesis of these problems through a retrospective analysis of their lives as school children; and determined the relationship between literacy development and personal background factors, school factors, physiological factors, and…

  16. Association between Criminal Thinking and Reading Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heintschel, Karen L.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyze a relationship between adult, male inmate's criminal attitudes and reading level. Data is derived from the secondary assessments, Criminal Sentiments Scale-Modified (CSS-M) and the reading scores from the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). The sample size is 112 adult, males incarcerated at California…

  17. Sex Roles in Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gunderson, Doris V.

    Sex roles in two disparate areas, reading and literature, are treated separately in this paper. Sex-related factors listed which may attribute to the high incidence of boys experiencing reading difficulty were: (1) predominance of female teachers in the primary grades, (2) boys' lack of interest in basal readers, (3) adults considering reading a…

  18. Mind-wandering in Younger and Older Adults: Converging Evidence from the Sustained Attention to Response Task and Reading for Comprehension

    PubMed Central

    Jackson, Jonathan D.; Balota, David A.

    2011-01-01

    One mechanism that has been hypothesized to contribute to older adults’ changes in cognitive performance is goal neglect or impairment in maintaining task set across time. Mind-wandering and task-unrelated thought may underlie these potential age-related changes. The present study investigated age-related changes in mind-wandering in three different versions of the Sustained Attention to Response task (SART), along with self-reported mind-wandering during a reading for comprehension task. In the SART, both younger and older adults produced similar levels of faster reaction times before No-Go errors of commission, whereas, older adults produced disproportionate post-error slowing. Subjective self-reports of mind-wandering recorded during the SART and the reading task indicated that older adults were less likely to report mind-wandering than younger adults. Discussion focuses on cognitive and motivational mechanisms that may account for older adults’ relatively low levels of reported mind-wandering. PMID:21707183

  19. NEA Report: Reading at Risk

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arts Education Policy Review, 2004

    2004-01-01

    Literary reading is in dramatic decline, with fewer than half of American adults now reading literature, according to a July 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The survey "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America" reports drops in all groups studied, with the steepest rate of decline--28…

  20. Review of EFL Learners' Habits in the Use of Pedagogical Dictionaries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El-Sayed, Al-Nauman Al-Amin Ali; Siddiek, Ahmed Gumaa

    2013-01-01

    A dictionary is an important device for both: EFL teachers and EFL learners. It is highly needed to conduct effective teaching and learning. Many investigations were carried out to study the foreign language learners' habits in the use of their dictionaries in reading, writing, testing and translating. This paper is shedding light on this issue;…

  1. Nutritional status, dietary habits, nutritional knowledge and self-care assessment in a group of older adults attending community centres in Pavia, Northern Italy.

    PubMed

    Turconi, G; Rossi, M; Roggi, C; Maccarini, L

    2013-02-01

    The population of industrialised countries is ageing as a consequence of an increase in life expectancy. As a result of the increasing ageing process, the assessment of nutritional status and dietary habits, as well as the assessment of self-care, is needed to plan selected actions aimed at improving the quality of life in the third and fourth life spans. A cross-sectional study was carried out on a randomly selected sample of 200 healthy older adults (≥65 years old), attending community centres for older people in Pavia, Northern Italy. Ninety-two percent of the recruited subjects participated in the survey. Anthropometric measurements and the Mini Nutritional Assessment were performed. Dietary habits, nutritional knowledge and self-care were investigated using a questionnaire administered by two dietitians. The majority of subjects were low socio-economic status and overweight [mean (SD) body mass index = 28.4 (4.3) kg/m(2) ], 12% were malnourished according to their Mini Nutritional Assessment score and the majority of the arm muscle circumference measurements were below the 10th percentile, predicting accelerated loss of lean mass, even in the healthy independently living older adults. Only 30% of the sample had adequate dietary habits, whereas the ability to self-care was good for the whole sample. The unhealthy and unbalanced diet, frequently too rich in sugar and fats and low in protein intake, might explain being overweight and the loss of lean mass in the study subjects. © 2012 The Authors Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2012 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  2. The Preferences of a Selected Group of Older Readers for Five Biographical Short Stories.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drotter, Molly Wilson

    The reading interests of a group of older adults were examined. Subjects were 16 adults between the ages of 50 and 85 who read five stories from "Readers' Digest" short story collections and who responded to a questionnaire about their preferences for the stories, their reading habits and interests, and the appealing elements of the stories. The…

  3. Differential Effects of Reading and Memorization of Paired Associates on Vocabulary Acquisition in Adult Learners of English as a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hermann, Frank

    2003-01-01

    Investigates differential effects of reading and paired associate learning on vocabulary acquisition of adult English-as-a-Second-Language learners. Two groups of university students participated. One group read "Animal Farm" while the comparison group memorized a list of words preselected from the novel. Suggests that for encouraging long-term…

  4. Stress Judgment and Production in English Derivation, and Word Reading in Adult Mandarin-Speaking English Learners.

    PubMed

    Chung, Wei-Lun; Jarmulowicz, Linda

    2017-08-01

    For monolingual English-speaking children, judgment and production of stress in derived words, including words with phonologically neutral (e.g., -ness) and non-neutral suffixes (e.g., -ity), is important to both academic vocabulary growth and to word reading. For Mandarin-speaking adult English learners (AELs) the challenge of learning the English stress system might be complicated by cross-linguistic differences in prosodic function and features. As Mandarin-speakers become more proficient in English, patterns similar to those seen in monolingual children could emerge in which awareness and use of stress and suffix cues benefit word reading. A correlational design was used to examine the contributions of English stress in derivation with neutral and non-neutral suffixes to English word and nonword reading. Stress judgment in non-neutral derivation predicted word reading after controlling for working memory and English vocabulary; whereas stress production in neutral derivation contributed to word reading and pseudoword decoding, independent of working memory and English vocabulary. Although AELs could use stress and suffix cues for word reading, AELs were different from native English speakers in awareness of non-neutral suffix cues conditioning lexical stress placement. AELs may need to rely on lexical storage of primary stress in derivations with non-neutral suffixes.

  5. Dialogic Reading. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. Revised

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

    2007-01-01

    "Dialogic Reading" is an interactive shared picture book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult who functions as an active listener and…

  6. The relations between reading and spelling: an examination of subtypes of reading disability.

    PubMed

    Bar-Kochva, Irit; Amiel, Meirav

    2016-07-01

    Three groups of reading-disabled children were found in studies of English, German, and French: a group with a double deficit in reading and spelling, a group with a single spelling deficit, and a more rarely reported group presenting a single reading deficit. This study set out to examine whether these groups can be found in adults, readers and spellers of Hebrew, which differs from the previously studied orthographies in many aspects. To this end, Hebrew-speaking adults with or without reading disability were administered various literacy and literacy-related tests. Results confirm the existence of the same three groups. While all shared a phonological deficit, subtle differences in phonological decoding ability and in speed of processing distinguished between the groups. The study therefore suggests that the previously reported associations and dissociations between reading and spelling are not restricted to English, German, or French and may not be only developmental in nature.

  7. [Eating habits, physical activity and socioeconomic level in university students of Chile].

    PubMed

    Rodríguez, Fernando; Palma, Ximen; Romo, Angela; Escobar, Daniela; Aragú, Bárbara; Espinoza, Luis; McMillan, Norman; Gálvez, Jorge

    2013-01-01

    University students are vulnerable to poor nutrition; they don't eat snacks between meals, don't eat breakfast or fast for long hours, prefer fast food and don't exercise. University students is considered the key young adult population group for health promotion and prevention for future generations, so it's crucial identify the current nutritional status and frequency of physical activity. To determine the factors involved in the choice of food and frequency of physical activity in university students. 799 volunteers were evaluated from four universities of the fifth region of Chile. Instrument was applied to determine the level of physical activity and eating habits, KIDMED test to determine adherence to the Mediterranean diet and Adimark instrument to determinate the socioeconomic status of the subjects. Finally, anthropometric evaluation to determinate BMI, fat mass and muscle mass. Physical inactivity is higher in women than in men and that the main reason for not exercising is lack of time and laziness. In both sexes don't read nutrition labels and have a low and average adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The low knowledge of nutrition is the cause of the poor food quality of subjects and there isn't greater motivation to perform physical activity.Socioeconomic status isn't related to eating habits and physical activity. It's necessary to integrate programs regular and permanent healthy lifestyle in all universities. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  8. Stress Judgment and Production in English Derivation, and Word Reading in Adult Mandarin-Speaking English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chung, Wei-Lun; Jarmulowicz, Linda

    2017-01-01

    For monolingual English-speaking children, judgment and production of stress in derived words, including words with phonologically neutral (e.g., -ness) and non-neutral suffixes (e.g., "-ity"), is important to both academic vocabulary growth and to word reading. For Mandarin-speaking adult English learners (AELs) the challenge of…

  9. Effective Literacy Instruction for Adults with Specific Learning Disabilities: Implications for Adult Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hock, Michael F.

    2012-01-01

    Adults with learning disabilities (LD) attending adult basic education, GED programs, or community colleges are among the lowest performers on measures of literacy. For example, on multiple measures of reading comprehension, adults with LD had a mean reading score at the third grade level, whereas adults without LD read at the fifth grade level.…

  10. Habits.

    PubMed

    Robbins, T W; Costa, Rui M

    2017-11-20

    What is a habit? One problem with the concept of habit has been that virtually everyone has their own ideas of what is meant by such a term. Whilst not eschewing folk psychology, it is useful to re-examine dictionary definitions of 'habit'. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines habit as "a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up" and also "an automatic reaction to a specific situation". The latter, reassuringly, is not too far from what has come to be known as stimulus-response theory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Shared Book Reading. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. Updated April 2015

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2015

    2015-01-01

    "Shared book reading" (also known as "interactive shared book reading") encompasses practices that adults can use when reading with children, which are intended to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During "shared book reading," an adult reads a book to an individual child or a group of children…

  12. Measuring the Reading Ability of Incoming Freshmen: A Path Analysis Investigation into Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schuster, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    Reading is a complex process involving numerous skills and abilities contributing to acquiring meaning from text. Individuals without the requisite reading skills will have difficulty not only in school but throughout their lifetimes. The purpose of the study was to compare the reading ability of incoming college freshmen with that of adults with…

  13. The Role of Oral Reading Fluency in ESL Reading Comprehension among Learners of Different First Language Backgrounds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jiang, Xiangying

    2016-01-01

    This study discusses the construct of oral reading fluency and examines its relationship to reading comprehension among adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners of four first language (L1) backgrounds. One hundred and forty-nine adult learners of English with Arabic, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese language backgrounds participated in this…

  14. College and Adult Reading XIV: The Fourteenth Yearbook of the North Central Reading Association.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, Kay E., Ed.; Fisher, Joseph A., Ed.

    Containing selections from the 1987 and 1988 annual meetings of the North Central Reading Association, this yearbook includes sections on research; reviews of research; professional issues; and program descriptions. Papers include: "The Effects of a Secondary Reading Methods Course on Undergraduate Students' Awareness of Reading Skills"…

  15. Habit formation.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kyle S; Graybiel, Ann M

    2016-03-01

    Habits, both good ones and bad ones, are pervasive in animal behavior. Important frameworks have been developed to understand habits through psychological and neurobiological studies. This work has given us a rich understanding of brain networks that promote habits, and has also helped us to understand what constitutes a habitual behavior as opposed to a behavior that is more flexible and prospective. Mounting evidence from studies using neural recording methods suggests that habit formation is not a simple process. We review this evidence and take the position that habits could be sculpted from multiple dissociable changes in neural activity. These changes occur across multiple brain regions and even within single brain regions. This strategy of classifying components of a habit based on different brain signals provides a potentially useful new way to conceive of disorders that involve overly fixed behaviors as arising from different potential dysfunctions within the brain's habit network.

  16. A Review of Habit Reversal with Childhood Habit Disorders.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woods, Douglas W.; Miltenberger, Raymond G.

    1996-01-01

    This paper first reviews four classes of habit disorders in children: motor and vocal tics, nervous habits, stuttering, and Tourette's disorder. It then describes the habit reversal procedure and reviews the literature on its use and variations to treat each of the four classes of habit disorders. Emphasis is on simplified versions of the original…

  17. [Smoking: knowledge, attitudes, habits and degree of dependence of young adults in Salvador].

    PubMed

    de Almeida, Aline Farias; Mussi, Fernanda Carneiro

    2006-12-01

    This study was aimed at evaluating the degree of smoking dependence and to characterize social demographic data, habits and attitudes of young smokers. Answered the questionnairel02 students from Salvador, State of Bahia, of which 11 were smokers. Their mean age and the age in which they first smoked were 18.2 and 13.4 years respectively. Most of them were male, in the first year of senior high school, of brown skin color and had close relatives who smoke. The majority of those young smokers had been advised about the risks of smoking at home and in school, but few had knowledge about the benefits of quitting. Almost half of them had been smoking for more than three years and had started to smoke out of curiosity. More than half of them smoked one cigarette per day, with low levels of nicotine, bought the cigarettes in shops, and wanted and tried to quit smoking, but never succeeded. The degree of dependence was low for most of them. This study offers hints for nurses to act against smoking with young adults.

  18. A profile of New Zealand 'Asian' participants of the 2008/09 Adult National Nutrition Survey: focus on dietary habits, nutrient intakes and health outcomes.

    PubMed

    Parackal, Sherly M; Smith, Claire; Parnell, Winsome Ruth

    2015-04-01

    To investigate similarities and differences in dietary habits, nutrient intakes and health outcomes of South Asians (SA) and East and South-East Asians (ESEA) and the New Zealand European and Other (NZEO) group, and to examine differences within 'Asian' subgroups according to duration of residence. Nutrient intake data from 24 h diet recalls and data from the dietary habits questionnaire, anthropometry and biochemical analyses from the cross-sectional 2008/09 Adult National Nutrition Survey in New Zealand were compared for participants categorized as SA, ESEA and NZEO. Adults aged 15 years and older (n 2995). New Zealand households. SA were more likely to 'never' eat red meat in comparison to NZEO (P<0.001) and among females also in comparison to ESEA (P<0.05). Intakes of fats and some micronutrients (riboflavin, vitamin B6, B12, Se) were lower among SA than NZEO (P<0.05). Lower intakes of Zn and vitamin B12 were reported by SA females compared with ESEA and NZEO females (P<0.05). A higher percentage of SA were obese using ethnic-specific cut-offs, had lower indices of Fe status and reported diagnosed diabetes compared with NZEO and ESEA. Recent SA male migrants had higher intakes of β-carotene, vitamin C and Ca compared with long-term migrants (P<0.05). The results of the present study indicate that dietary habits, nutrient intakes, blood profile and body size differ significantly between Asian subgroups. It also provides some evidence for changes in dietary intakes according to duration of residence especially for SA males.

  19. Reading in English and in Chinese: Case Study of Retrospective Miscue Analysis with Two Adult ELLS

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Yang; Gilles, Carol J.

    2017-01-01

    Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) has proved to be a useful instructional tool in language arts classrooms and for English learners from various cultures. However, it has not been used with native Mandarin-speaking English learners. This qualitative case study explored the reading process of two adult Mandarin-speaking ELs through RMA. They read…

  20. A Reading Skills Development Program for Adult Non-Readers. Featuring: Supplementary Graphics and Sound (Voice Tutorials). Volumes 1 and 2. The TRS-80 Computer Assisted Instruction Series for Adult Basic Education Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    San Antonio State Hospital, TX. Office of Education Services.

    This instructional manual consists of materials for use in implementing a computer-assisted instructional program in reading skills development for adult nonreaders. Discussed first are the project during which this instructional program and manual were developed and the goals of the computer-assisted beginning reading program, a major feature of…

  1. Habit formation

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Kyle S.; Graybiel, Ann M.

    2016-01-01

    Habits, both good ones and bad ones, are pervasive in animal behavior. Important frameworks have been developed to understand habits through psychological and neurobiological studies. This work has given us a rich understanding of brain networks that promote habits, and has also helped us to understand what constitutes a habitual behavior as opposed to a behavior that is more flexible and prospective. Mounting evidence from studies using neural recording methods suggests that habit formation is not a simple process. We review this evidence and take the position that habits could be sculpted from multiple dissociable changes in neural activity. These changes occur across multiple brain regions and even within single brain regions. This strategy of classifying components of a habit based on different brain signals provides a potentially useful new way to conceive of disorders that involve overly fixed behaviors as arising from different potential dysfunctions within the brain's habit network. PMID:27069378

  2. Induction and blockade of adolescent cocaine-induced habits

    PubMed Central

    DePoy, Lauren M.; Zimmermann, Kelsey S.; Marvar, Paul J.; Gourley, Shannon L.

    2017-01-01

    Background Cocaine use during adolescence increases vulnerability to drug dependence and decreases the likelihood that individuals will seek treatment as adults. Understanding how early-life cocaine exposure influences decision-making processes in adulthood is thus critically important. Methods Adolescent or adult mice were exposed to subchronic cocaine, then behavioral sensitivity to changes in the predictive relationship between actions and their consequences was tested. Dendritic spines on the principal pyramidal neurons of the orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex (oPFC) were also imaged and enumerated. To determine whether cytoskeletal regulatory systems in the oPFC influenced decision-making strategies, we then inhibited the activity of Abl-family and Rho kinases, as well as NR2B-containing NMDA receptors. We also attempted to block the reinstatement of cocaine seeking in cocaine self-administering mice. Results Adult mice with a history of subchronic cocaine exposure in adolescence engaged habit-based response strategies at the expense of goal-directed decision-making strategies and had fewer dendritic spines in the oPFC. Inhibition of the cytoskeletal regulatory Abl-family kinases in the oPFC recapitulated these neurobehavioral deficiencies, while Rho-kinase inhibition corrected response strategies. Additionally, the NR2B-selective NMDA receptor antagonists ifenprodil and CP-101,606 blocked cocaine-induced habits, and this was dependent on Abl-family signaling in the oPFC. Ifenprodil also mitigated cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking in mice self-administering cocaine. Conclusions We suggest that adolescent cocaine exposure confers a bias towards habit-based behavior in adulthood via long-term cellular structural modifications in the oPFC. Treatments aimed at mitigating the durable consequences of early-life cocaine may benefit from targeting cytoskeletal regulatory systems. PMID:27871669

  3. Experiments with an ESOL Reading Laboratory.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahrens, Patricia

    The reading laboratory has been developed to supplement intensive reading work for adult foreign students developing English-as-a-second-language skills at the American Language Institute. The laboratory is designed to suggest to students that there is a variety of reading tasks and a variety of reading strategies related to the tasks, to offer…

  4. Messages Are Everywhere: Reading Perceptions, Habits, and Preferences of Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nadelson, Louis S.; Villagómez, Amanda; Konkol, Danielle; Haskell, Chris; McCulley, Meleah; Campbell, Denise

    2013-01-01

    As society continues to evolve, so do the methods that are used for text-based communication. Electronic books, mobile phone text messaging, and an array of internet-based texts are now combined with traditional print forms of text, broadly expanding text-based communication. However, student perceptions of reading may still be limited to…

  5. Reading Disability and Adult Attained Education and Income: Evidence from a 30-Year Longitudinal Study of a Population-Based Sample

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLaughlin, Margaret J.; Speirs, Katherine E.; Shenassa, Edmond D.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the impact of childhood reading disability (RD) on adult educational attainment and income. Participants' (N = 1,344) RD was assessed at age 7, and adult educational attainment and income were assessed in midlife using categorical variables. Participants with RD at age 7 were 74% (95% CI: 0.18, 0.37) less likely to attain a…

  6. An evidence-based gamified mHealth intervention for overweight young adults with maladaptive eating habits: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Podina, Ioana R; Fodor, Liviu A; Cosmoiu, Ana; Boian, Rareș

    2017-12-12

    Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the first-line of treatment for overweight and obesity patients whose problems originate in maladaptive eating habits (e.g., emotional eating). However, in-person CBT is currently difficult to access by large segments of the population. The proposed SIGMA intervention (i.e., the Self-help, Integrated, and Gamified Mobile-phone Application) is a mHealth intervention based on CBT principles. It specifically targets overweight young adults with underlying maladaptive behaviors and cognitions regarding food. The SIGMA app was designed as a serious game and intended to work as a standalone app for weight maintenance or alongside a calorie-restrictive diet for weight loss. It uses a complex and novel scoring system that allows points earned within the game to be supplemented by points earned during outdoor activities with the help of an embedded pedometer. The efficacy of the SIGMA mHealth intervention will be investigated within a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The intervention will be set to last 2 months with a 3-month follow-up. Selected participants will be young overweight adults with non-clinical maladaptive eating habits embodied by food cravings, binge eating, and emotional eating. The primary outcomes will be represented by changes in (1) self-reported maladaptive thoughts related to eating and body weight, (2) self-reported maladaptive eating behaviors in the range of urgent food cravings, emotional eating or binge eating, (3) as well as biased attentional processing of food items as indexed by reaction times. Secondary outcomes will be represented by changes in weight, Body Mass Index, general mood, and physical activity as indexed by the number of steps per day. Through an evidence-based cognitive behavioral approach and a user-friendly game interface, the SIGMA intervention offers a significant contribution to the development of a cost-effective and preventive self-help tool for young overweight adults with

  7. Affordances of Using Multiple Videoed Events to Construct a Rich Understanding of Adult-Child Book Readings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicholas, Maria

    2018-01-01

    This paper explores the affordances of using video-based research to capture a multiplicity of events, along with multimodal representations when producing data related to adult-child book readings. In doing this we answer two questions: (1) why more than one event is needed when seeking a comprehensive collection of information for the purpose of…

  8. AN EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECT OF MOTIVATIONAL APPEAL VS. TECHNIQUES UPON READING RATE IMPROVEMENT IN A GROUP OF COLLEGE STUDENTS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MAXWELL, MARTHA J.; MUELLER, ARTHUR C.

    A STUDY OF THE READING HABITS AND ABILITIES OF 132 PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE (1) IF READING SPEED COULD BE INCREASED WITHOUT CHANGE IN COMPREHENSION AND (2) WHETHER INFORMATION ABOUT SOME OF THE BASIC TECHNIQUES OF READING STRESSED IN TYPICAL READING COURSES COULD ELICIT CHANGES IN STANDARDIZED…

  9. Mechanisms of attention in reading parafoveal words: a cross-linguistic study in children.

    PubMed

    Siéroff, Eric; Dahmen, Riadh; Fagard, Jacqueline

    2012-05-01

    The right visual field superiority (RVFS) for words may be explained by the cerebral lateralization for language, the scanning habits in relation to script direction, and spatial attention. The present study explored the influence of spatial attention on the RVFS in relation to scanning habits in school-age children. French second- and fourth-graders identified briefly presented French parafoveal words. Tunisian second- and fourth-graders identified Arabic words, and Tunisian fourth-graders identified French words. The distribution of spatial attention was evaluated by using a distracter in the visual field opposite the word. The results of the correct identification score showed that reading direction had only a partial effect on the identification of parafoveal words and the distribution of attention, with a clear RVFS and a larger effect of the distracter in the left visual field in French children reading French words, and an absence of asymmetry when Tunisian children read Arabic words. Fourth-grade Tunisian children also showed an RVFS when reading French words without an asymmetric distribution of attention, suggesting that their native language may have partially influenced reading strategies in the newly learned language. However, the mode of letter processing, evaluated by a qualitative error score, was only influenced by reading direction, with more sequential processing in the visual field where reading "begins." The distribution of attention when reading parafoveal words is better explained by the interaction between left hemisphere activation and strategies related to reading direction. We discuss these results in light of an attentional theory that dissociates selection and preparation.

  10. Does silent reading speed in normal adult readers depend on early visual processes? evidence from event-related brain potentials.

    PubMed

    Korinth, Sebastian Peter; Sommer, Werner; Breznitz, Zvia

    2012-01-01

    Little is known about the relationship of reading speed and early visual processes in normal readers. Here we examined the association of the early P1, N170 and late N1 component in visual event-related potentials (ERPs) with silent reading speed and a number of additional cognitive skills in a sample of 52 adult German readers utilizing a Lexical Decision Task (LDT) and a Face Decision Task (FDT). Amplitudes of the N170 component in the LDT but, interestingly, also in the FDT correlated with behavioral tests measuring silent reading speed. We suggest that reading speed performance can be at least partially accounted for by the extraction of essential structural information from visual stimuli, consisting of a domain-general and a domain-specific expertise-based portion. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Association Between Sociodemographic Factors, Personality, and Oral Habits (Tooth Brushing and Smoking) in Spanish Adults.

    PubMed

    Gómez-Polo, Cristina; Montero, Javier

    The aim of the present study was to describe personality traits of a sample of Spanish adults, identify the main sociodemographic factors related to personality, and assess the influence of these traits on healthy dental habits. A cross-sectional design was used with 235 subjects, all of Spanish nationality and aged between 18 and 80 years, with a minimum educational level (ie, they had completed only the minimum obligatory schooling), ensuring that none of the subjects had any psychologic disturbance. The data on five personality dimensions were recorded. Sociodemographic and behavioral standard scores (z) were studied for each personality dimension, and the scores were related to the other variables studied. A significant linear correlation was observed between the z scores of the personality factors and the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. The men had personalities with significantly less neuroticism, less openness, less agreeableness, and less conscientiousness than the women. In behavioral terms, those who brushed more than once a day were more agreeable (0.1 ± 0.9) than those who only brushed once a day (-0.2 ± 1.2), and smokers had higher mean scores for extroversion (0.3 ± 0.9) than did nonsmokers (-0.1 ± 1.0). The most developed personality traits in this sample, as in the reference population, were conscientiousness (123.1 ± 22.9 points) and agreeableness (119.2 ± 19.1 points). The main sociodemographic factors of personality were found to be age and sex. Moreover, it was observed that certain personality dimensions were linked to smoking and tooth brushing habits.

  12. Constructing Reading: Building Conceptions of Literacy in a Volunteer Read-Aloud Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dawes, Erika Thulin

    2007-01-01

    This study describes the interactions of three adult-child reading partnerships in a program that matches corporate volunteers with "at risk" students for weekly hour-long story reading sessions. Using discourse analysis within a sociocultural framework, the researcher identified variation in the way these partners were constructing the act and…

  13. Nurturing a lexical legacy: reading experience is critical for the development of word reading skill

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nation, Kate

    2017-12-01

    The scientific study of reading has taught us much about the beginnings of reading in childhood, with clear evidence that the gateway to reading opens when children are able to decode, or `sound out' written words. Similarly, there is a large evidence base charting the cognitive processes that characterise skilled word recognition in adults. Less understood is how children develop word reading expertise. Once basic reading skills are in place, what factors are critical for children to move from novice to expert? This paper outlines the role of reading experience in this transition. Encountering individual words in text provides opportunities for children to refine their knowledge about how spelling represents spoken language. Alongside this, however, reading experience provides much more than repeated exposure to individual words in isolation. According to the lexical legacy perspective, outlined in this paper, experiencing words in diverse and meaningful language environments is critical for the development of word reading skill. At its heart is the idea that reading provides exposure to words in many different contexts, episodes and experiences which, over time, sum to a rich and nuanced database about their lexical history within an individual's experience. These rich and diverse encounters bring about local variation at the word level: a lexical legacy that is measurable during word reading behaviour, even in skilled adults.

  14. Quantitative habitability.

    PubMed

    Shock, Everett L; Holland, Melanie E

    2007-12-01

    A framework is proposed for a quantitative approach to studying habitability. Considerations of environmental supply and organismal demand of energy lead to the conclusions that power units are most appropriate and that the units for habitability become watts per organism. Extreme and plush environments are revealed to be on a habitability continuum, and extreme environments can be quantified as those where power supply only barely exceeds demand. Strategies for laboratory and field experiments are outlined that would quantify power supplies, power demands, and habitability. An example involving a comparison of various metabolisms pursued by halophiles is shown to be well on the way to a quantitative habitability analysis.

  15. Comparing the Efficiency of Repeated Reading and Listening-While-Reading to Improve Fluency and Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawkins, Renee O.; Marsicano, Richard; Schmitt, Ara J.; McCallum, Elizabeth; Musti-Rao, Shobana

    2015-01-01

    An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effects of two reading fluency interventions on the oral reading fluency and maze accuracy of four fourth-grade students. Also, by taking into account time spent in intervention, the efficiency of the two interventions was compared. In the adult-mediated repeated reading (RR) condition,…

  16. The Role of University Students' Attitude towards Turkish Language Lesson in Interpreting Reading Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aytan, Necmi

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the aim is to measure the effect of students' reading strategies and attitudes towards Turkish language on reading habits. 323 first grade students receiving education in 2014-2015 semester in International Antalya University located at the center of Antalya were involved in the study. As the method, relational screening model was…

  17. The Effects of Orthographic Transparency and Familiarity on Reading Hebrew Words in Adults with and without Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yael, Weiss; Tami, Katzir; Tali, Bitan

    2015-01-01

    The current study examined the effects of transparency and familiarity on word recognition in adult Hebrew dyslexic readers with a phonological processing deficit as compared to typical readers. We measured oral reading response time and accuracy of single nouns in several conditions: diacritics that provide transparent but less familiar…

  18. Effects of Vocabulary Instruction Using Constant Time Delay on Expository Reading of Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hua, Youjia; Woods-Groves, Suzanne; Kaldenberg, Erica R.; Scheidecker, Bethany J.

    2013-01-01

    We investigated the effectiveness of using constant time delay (CTD) with young adults with intellectual disability on their vocabulary acquisition and retention, as well as expository reading comprehension. Four learners, ages 19 to 21 years, from a postsecondary education program for individuals with disabilities participated in the study.…

  19. Clustering of risk factors with smoking habits among adults, Sousse, Tunisia.

    PubMed

    Maatoug, Jihene; Harrabi, Imed; Hmad, Sonia; Belkacem, Mylene; Al'absi, Mustafa; Lando, Harry; Ghannem, Hassen

    2013-12-19

    In Tunisia, few studies have assessed the association between tobacco use and other lifestyle risk factors for chronic disease (eg, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity). We studied 1,880 adults to determine the association between tobacco use and other lifestyle risk factors in Tunisia. This study was part of an assessment of the prevalence of chronic disease risk factors in a community-based trial conducted in 2009 to implement a chronic disease prevention program. The study population was randomly selected from 3 districts of the region of Sousse. The questionnaires were administered by personal interview and included the assessment of tobacco use and other chronic disease risk factors such as unhealthful diet habits and physical inactivity. Of the 1,880 study participants, 64% were women. The mean age of the participants was 37.9 (standard deviation, 13.5 y). The prevalence of tobacco use in our population was 50.4% for men and 3.1% for women. Among men, the proportion of alcohol consumption was significantly higher among smokers (25.3% vs 5.7% [P <.001]). Smokers consumed fewer fruits and vegetables and more high-fat, high-salt, and high-sugar foods than did nonsmokers. There was no significant difference between male smokers and nonsmokers regarding physical activity (P = .36). Physical activity and dietary characteristics may be important areas for physicians to assess during smoking-cessation interventions.

  20. Encouraging Recreational Reading (The Printout).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balajthy, Ernest

    1988-01-01

    Describes computer software, including "The Electronic Bookshelf" and "Return to Reading," which provides motivation for recreational reading in various ways, including: quizzes, games based on books, and whole language activities for children's literature and young adult fiction. (MM)

  1. Correlation of anthropometric variables, conditional and exercise habits in activite olders

    PubMed Central

    Ramos Bermúdez, Santiago; Parra Sánchez, José H

    2012-01-01

    Objective: This study sought to correlate the anthropometric and functional variables, and exercise habits in a group of elderly adults who regularly attend exercise programs. Method: Participation of 217 subjects between 60 and 85 years of age, from 13 regions of Colombia. Anthropometric and functional assessment was conducted as a questionnaire on exercise habits. Results: Negative correlations were shown between exercise habits and body fat and positive correlations between hand strength and VO2 max. (r = 0.4), age was negatively associated to functional variables. Conclusions: The functional capacity is influenced by increased age and body fat. With higher frequencies of physical exercise, VO2 max. and strength improved, but less body fat was observed. PMID:24893195

  2. Patterns of dietary habits in relation to obesity in Iranian adults.

    PubMed

    Saneei, Parvane; Esmaillzadeh, Ahmad; Keshteli, Ammar Hassanzadeh; Feizi, Awat; Feinle-Bisset, Christine; Adibi, Peyman

    2016-03-01

    Findings from few studies that investigated the relation between dietary behaviors and obesity are inconsistent. We aimed to assess the relation between patterns of dietary habits, identified by latent class analysis (LCA), and obesity in a large sample of Iranian adults. In a cross-sectional study on 7958 adults, dietary behaviors were assessed in five domains (meal patterns, eating rate, intra-meal fluid intake, meal-to-sleep interval, and fatty foods intake) using a pretested questionnaire. LCA was applied to identify classes of diet-related practices. Anthropometric measures were assessed through the use of a validated self-reported questionnaire. General and abdominal obesity were defined as a body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m(2), and a waist circumference ≥ 88 cm for women and ≥ 102 cm for men. General and abdominal obesity were prevalent in 9.7 and 27.7 % of the study population, respectively. We identified three distinct classes of eating rates (moderate, moderate to slow, and moderate to fast), two classes of meal patterns (regular and irregular), two classes of intra-meal fluid intake (moderate and more intra-meal drinking), three classes of meal-to-sleep interval (short, moderate, and long meal-to-sleep interval), and three classes of fatty food intake (low to moderate, moderate to high, and low intake of fatty foods). After adjustment for potential confounders, individuals with 'irregular meal pattern' were 21, 24, and 22 % more likely to be overweight/obese, abdominally overweight/obese, and abdominally obese, compared with those who had a 'regular meal pattern.' Individuals with 'more intra-meal drinking' had greater odds of overweight (OR 1.37; 1.19-1.458) and obesity (OR 1.51; 1.16-1.97) than those with 'moderate intra-meal drinking.' Moderate-to-high intake of fatty foods was inversely associated with abdominally overweight/obese (OR 0.85; 0.73-1.00) and abdominally obesity (OR 0.80; 0.68-0.96) compared with 'low-to-moderate intake of fatty foods

  3. Readers in Adult Basic Education.

    PubMed

    Barnes, Adrienne E; Kim, Young-Suk; Tighe, Elizabeth L; Vorstius, Christian

    The present study explored the reading skills of a sample of 48 adults enrolled in a basic education program in northern Florida, United States. Previous research has reported on reading component skills for students in adult education settings, but little is known about eye movement patterns or their relation to reading skills for this population. In this study, reading component skills including decoding, language comprehension, and reading fluency are reported, as are eye movement variables for connected-text oral reading. Eye movement comparisons between individuals with higher and lower oral reading fluency revealed within- and between-subject effects for word frequency and word length as well as group and word frequency interactions. Bivariate correlations indicated strong relations between component skills of reading, eye movement measures, and both the Test of Adult Basic Education ( Reading subtest) and the Woodcock-Johnson III Diagnostic Reading Battery Passage Comprehension assessments. Regression analyses revealed the utility of decoding, language comprehension, and lexical activation time for predicting achievement on both the Woodcock Johnson III Passage Comprehension and the Test of Adult Basic Education Reading Comprehension.

  4. Character Reading Fluency, Word Segmentation Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension in L2 Chinese

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shen, Helen H.; Jiang, Xin

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the relationships between lower-level processing and general reading comprehension among adult L2 (second-language) beginning learners of Chinese, in both target and non-target language learning environments. Lower-level processing in Chinese reading includes the factors of character-naming accuracy, character-naming speed,…

  5. Prevalence of self-reported hypertension and its relation to dietary habits, in adults; a nutrition & health survey in Greece

    PubMed Central

    Pitsavos, Christos; Milias, George A; Panagiotakos, Demosthenes B; Xenaki, Dimitra; Panagopoulos, George; Stefanadis, Christodoulos

    2006-01-01

    Background Hypertension leads to many degenerative diseases, the most common being cardiovascular in origin. This study has been designed to estimate the prevalence of self-reported hypertension in a random nationwide sample of adult Greek population, while focus was set to the assessment of participants' nutritional habits in relation to their hypertension status. Methods A random-digit dialed telephone survey. Based on a multistage, stratified sampling, 5003 adults (18 – 74 yr) participated (men: 48.8%, women: 51.2%). All participants were interviewed via telephone by trained personnel who used a standard questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, medical history, lifestyle habits and nutritional assessment. Results The prevalence of self-reported hypertension was 13.3% in men and 17.7% in women (P < 0.001). Furthermore, women reported higher values of systolic blood pressure (180 ± 27 mmHg) than men (169 ± 24 mmHg). Positive relationships were found between hypertension status and the prevalence of the rest investigated health conditions (i.e. hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus, renal failure and obesity). Nutritional assessment showed that consumption of fish, fruits and juices, cereals, and low fat milk and yogurt was significantly higher among hypertensive subjects while the opposite was observed for food items as red meat, pork, egg, pasta and rice, full fat dairy products and desserts. Conclusion Hypertension seems to be a serious public health problem in Greece. It is encouraging that hypertensives may have started adopting some more healthy nutritional behaviour compared to normotensive ones. However, they can gain significant benefits regarding to blood pressure control, if they increase the level of compliance with dietary recommendations. PMID:16904009

  6. Undernutrition among adult Bengalees of Dearah, Hooghly District, West Bengal, India: relationship with educational status and food habit.

    PubMed

    Bose, Kaushik; Bisai, Samiran; Sadhukhan, Sanjay; Mukhopadhyay, Ashish; Bhadra, Mithu

    2009-06-01

    A cross-sectional study of 1203 adult (> 18 years of age) Bengalees of Dearah, Hooghly District, West Bengal, India, was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of undernutrition and the relationship of educational level and food habit with undernutrition. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) computed following the standard equation. A BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 was classified as undernutrition or chronic energy deficiency (CED) as per World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. The public health problem of low BMI in this population was classified according to the WHO criteria. Educational status was coded as: no formal education, 1-8 years of schooling and > 8 years of schooling. Food habit was recorded as vegetarian or non-vegetarian. The mean ages of males and females were (39.6 +/- 15.0 years) and (39.6 +/- 15.0 years), respectively. There were significant (p < 0.001) sex differences in mean height and weight; both sexes had a similar BMI. The overall (sex combined) prevalence of undernutrition was 27.7%. The frequency of undernutrition was significantly (p < 0.001) higher among females (31.7%) compared to males (23.6%). According to the WHO classification of low BMI, the prevalence of CED was high (20-39%) indicating a serious situation. There existed a significant (p < 0.001) relationship between the level of formal education and nutritional status. Overall, the frequencies of CED (43.5%) were much higher than overweight (7.0%) among subjects with no formal education. The frequencies of CED and overweight among subjects with 1-8 years of formal education were 25.7% and 9.7%, respectively. Similarly, significantly (p < 0.001) higher rates of CED were found among subjects with no formal education in both sexes (males = 39.5%; females = 45.6%) compared to the presence of overweight (males = 1.8%; females = 9.8%). Sex-combined frequency of undernutrition was significantly (p < 0.001) higher among vegetarians (48.3%) compared with non

  7. How stable are physical activity habits among adults? The Doetinchem Cohort Study.

    PubMed

    Picavet, H Susan J; Wendel-vos, G C Wanda; Vreeken, Hilda L; Schuit, A Jantine; Verschuren, W Monique M

    2011-01-01

    Leisure time physical activity in compliance with recommended levels is associated with improved health and lower mortality, but little is known on whether these physical activity habits are stable among adults and what characteristics predict physical activity changes. Our objective was to determine change in the levels of leisure time physical activity among adults during a period of 10 yr. Detailed information on time spent on cycling, gardening, doing odd jobs, and sports from three measurement periods (1993-1997, 1998-2002, and 2003-2007) of the population-based Doetinchem Cohort Study was used to define being active: spending at least 3.5 h·wk(-1) on moderate to vigorous physical activities, an approximation of the Dutch recommended level. Almost one-third (31.4%) of the population were active at all three points in time, 3.6% were inactive, and 45.0% of the participants changed their level of physical activity, almost equally distributed over decreasers, increasers, and varying. Not smoking (odds ratio (OR) = 1.47, 95% confidence limits (CL) = 1.14-1.89) and high socioeconomic status (OR = 1.43, 95% CL = 1.07-1.92) were associated with staying active. Inactive men (OR = 0.73, 95% CL = 0.57-0.94) had the highest risk of staying inactive, whereas good perceived health was associated with becoming active (OR = 1.49, 95% CL = 1.09-2.03). The finding that, in a decade, almost half of the population changed from active to inactive or vice versa affects the interpretation of the long-term health effects of physical activity measured only once, and it stresses the importance of interventions not only in increasing physical activity levels but also in maintaining a physically active lifestyle.

  8. Assessing Reading. Using Cloze Procedure To Assess Reading Skills. [Packet] and Handbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vaughan, Judy

    These instructor's materials consist of a handbook directed to the teacher and 33 worksheets teachers can use with adult students in order to use the cloze procedure to assess how readily they can read materials of differing complexity. The handbook introduces the materials by considering such questions as What is meant by reading?, How could…

  9. Theory of Mind Skills in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Investigating the Influence of Peer Coaches and Mind Reading Software

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fox, Mary Murphy

    2012-01-01

    The current study investigated Theory of Mind in young adults with autism. The young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) consisted of four students between the ages of 18 and 19 from an on-campus program for students with autism located at Marywood University in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It was hypothesized that "Mind Reading",…

  10. Children's and Young People's Reading Habits and Preferences: The Who, What, Why, Where and When

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Christina; Foster, Amelia

    2005-01-01

    This report, based on a recent survey of over 8,000 primary and secondary pupils in England, explores why some pupils choose to read and others do not. The research literature shows that reading for pleasure benefits children in numerous ways. Yet, research also shows that young people's reading enjoyment may be declining. Given current political…

  11. Habitability: A Review.

    PubMed

    Cockell, C S; Bush, T; Bryce, C; Direito, S; Fox-Powell, M; Harrison, J P; Lammer, H; Landenmark, H; Martin-Torres, J; Nicholson, N; Noack, L; O'Malley-James, J; Payler, S J; Rushby, A; Samuels, T; Schwendner, P; Wadsworth, J; Zorzano, M P

    2016-01-01

    Habitability is a widely used word in the geoscience, planetary science, and astrobiology literature, but what does it mean? In this review on habitability, we define it as the ability of an environment to support the activity of at least one known organism. We adopt a binary definition of "habitability" and a "habitable environment." An environment either can or cannot sustain a given organism. However, environments such as entire planets might be capable of supporting more or less species diversity or biomass compared with that of Earth. A clarity in understanding habitability can be obtained by defining instantaneous habitability as the conditions at any given time in a given environment required to sustain the activity of at least one known organism, and continuous planetary habitability as the capacity of a planetary body to sustain habitable conditions on some areas of its surface or within its interior over geological timescales. We also distinguish between surface liquid water worlds (such as Earth) that can sustain liquid water on their surfaces and interior liquid water worlds, such as icy moons and terrestrial-type rocky planets with liquid water only in their interiors. This distinction is important since, while the former can potentially sustain habitable conditions for oxygenic photosynthesis that leads to the rise of atmospheric oxygen and potentially complex multicellularity and intelligence over geological timescales, the latter are unlikely to. Habitable environments do not need to contain life. Although the decoupling of habitability and the presence of life may be rare on Earth, it may be important for understanding the habitability of other planetary bodies.

  12. Reading acceleration training changes brain circuitry in children with reading difficulties

    PubMed Central

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Vannest, Jennifer J; Kadis, Darren; Cicchino, Nicole; Wang, Yingying Y; Holland, Scott K

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Dyslexia is characterized by slow, inaccurate reading. Previous studies have shown that the Reading Acceleration Program (RAP) improves reading speed and accuracy in children and adults with dyslexia and in typical readers across different orthographies. However, the effect of the RAP on the neural circuitry of reading has not been established. In the current study, we examined the effect of the RAP training on regions of interest in the neural circuitry for reading using a lexical decision task during fMRI in children with reading difficulties and typical readers. Methods Children (8–12 years old) with reading difficulties and typical readers were studied before and after 4 weeks of training with the RAP in both groups. Results In addition to improvements in oral and silent contextual reading speed, training-related gains were associated with increased activation of the left hemisphere in both children with reading difficulties and typical readers. However, only children with reading difficulties showed improvements in reading comprehension, which were associated with significant increases in right frontal lobe activation. Conclusions Our results demonstrate differential effects of the RAP on neural circuits supporting reading in both children with reading difficulties and typical readers and suggest that the intervention may stimulate use of typical neural circuits for reading and engage compensatory pathways to support reading in the developing brain of children with reading difficulties. PMID:25365797

  13. Behavior Modification Revisited: Practical Application for the Reading Teacher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lang, Deborah Odom; Lang, William Steve

    An informal study examined the impact of a simple behavior modification procedure on the reading habits of second and fifth grade students. Behavior modification theory was pared down to two rules ("reinforce proper behavior" and "reinforce anything close to proper behavior") so that no additional burdens would be placed on…

  14. The interpupillary distance in adult Caucasian subjects, with reference to 'readymade' reading spectacle centration.

    PubMed

    Pointer, Jonathan S

    2012-07-01

    The magnitude of the far interpupillary distance (FIPD) has recognized significance within and beyond clinical optometry. Quantitative information regarding the lesser-reported near parameter (NIPD) would similarly be of interest, and could be of relevance with regard to the visual comfort obtained with 'readymade' reading spectacles. Mensuration statistics relating to the FIPD and NIPD are presented, as collated from the spectacle dispensing records of n = 1354 healthy Caucasian presbyopic subjects. The FIPD data were partitioned across 4 age bands (by decade, 41-80 years of age): the NIPD data were distributed across seven nominal reading powers (in 0.50 D steps, +1.00 to +4.00 D). The results of these analyses are considered here, along with their potential application. Consistent gender (male > female) and classification (far > near) differences in IPD (both of approximately 3 mm) were confirmed throughout these data. The magnitude of the adult FIPD is in accord with previously published results; this dimension is now supplemented by NIPD values, whose relationship with total near power is also described. This new anthropometric survey indicates that inter- and intra-gender interocular facial measurement stability is a characteristic of presbyopic subjects. It is suggested that across the anticipated range of age and total reading power requirement of Caucasian (White Northern European) wearers of 'readymade' reading spectacles, adoption of a standard optical centration distance of 61 mm would be universally appropriate. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2012 The College of Optometrists.

  15. Self-rated driving habits among older adults with clinically-defined mild cognitive impairment, clinically-defined dementia, and normal cognition.

    PubMed

    O'Connor, Melissa L; Edwards, Jerri D; Bannon, Yvonne

    2013-12-01

    Older adults with clinically-defined dementia may report reducing their driving more than cognitively normal controls. However, it is unclear how these groups compare to individuals with clinically-defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in terms of driving behaviors. The current study investigated self-reported driving habits among adults age 60 and older with clinical MCI (n=41), clinical mild dementia (n=40), and normal cognition (n=43). Participants reported their driving status, driving frequency (days per week), and how often they avoided accessing the community, making left turns, driving at night, driving in unfamiliar areas, driving on high-traffic roads, and driving in bad weather. After adjusting for education, a MANCOVA revealed that participants with MCI and dementia avoided unfamiliar areas and high-traffic roads significantly more than normal participants. Participants with dementia also avoided left turns and accessing the community more than those with normal cognition and MCI (p<0.05 for all). The other driving variables did not significantly differ between groups. Thus, older adults with clinically-defined MCI, as well as those with dementia, avoided some complex driving situations more than cognitively intact adults. However, all diagnostic groups had similar rates of driving cessation and frequency. Future research should examine the safety implications of such findings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Elaborative processing in the Korsakoff syndrome: context versus habit.

    PubMed

    Van Damme, Ilse; d'Ydewalle, Géry

    2008-07-01

    Using a procedure of Hay and Jacoby [Hay, J. F., & Jacoby, L. L. (1999). Separating habit and recollection in young and older adults: Effects of elaborative processing and distinctiveness. Psychology and Aging, 14, 122-134], Korsakoff patients' capacity to encode and retrieve elaborative, semantic information was investigated. Habits were created during initial training, whereupon cued-recall memory performance was examined, with habit opposing as well as facilitating recollection of earlier studied words. A first group of patients was instructed and tested in the same way as healthy controls and showed poor test performance. Nevertheless, when given more processing and response time, additional explanation, and explicit encouragement, a second group of patients performed similarly to healthy controls. The results suggest that, when given adequate support, Korsakoff patients are able to encode and make use of semantic, contextual, and sequential information. Word distinctiveness, however, only influenced performance of controls.

  17. Reading-Strategy Use by English as a Second Language Learners in Online Reading Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Ho-Ryong; Kim, Deoksoon

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates adult English language learners' reading-strategy use when they read online texts in hypermedia learning environments. The learners joined the online Independent English Study Group (IESG) and worked both individually and collaboratively. This qualitative case study aims (a) to assess college-level ESL learners' use of…

  18. Reading Habits of University ESL Students at Different Levels of English Proficiency and Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Sheorey, Ravi

    1994-01-01

    Examines the degree to which the levels of English proficiency (high vs. low) and education (graduate vs. undergraduate) of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were associated with differences in their reading behaviors. Finds that the subjects' level of education and English proficiency were associated with their reading behavior…

  19. A Quantile Regression Approach to Understanding the Relations Between Morphological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

    PubMed Central

    Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint and unique contributions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at five reading comprehension levels in Adult Basic Education (ABE) students. We introduce the statistical technique of multiple quantile regression, which enabled us to assess the predictive utility of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at multiple points (quantiles) along the continuous distribution of reading comprehension. To demonstrate the efficacy of our multiple quantile regression analysis, we compared and contrasted our results with a traditional multiple regression analytic approach. Our results indicated that morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge accounted for a large portion of the variance (82-95%) in reading comprehension skills across all quantiles. Morphological awareness exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at lower levels of reading comprehension whereas vocabulary knowledge exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at higher levels of reading comprehension. These results indicate the utility of using multiple quantile regression to assess trajectories of component skills across multiple levels of reading comprehension. The implications of our findings for ABE programs are discussed. PMID:25351773

  20. A Quantile Regression Approach to Understanding the Relations Among Morphological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students.

    PubMed

    Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2016-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint and unique contributions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at five reading comprehension levels in adult basic education (ABE) students. We introduce the statistical technique of multiple quantile regression, which enabled us to assess the predictive utility of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at multiple points (quantiles) along the continuous distribution of reading comprehension. To demonstrate the efficacy of our multiple quantile regression analysis, we compared and contrasted our results with a traditional multiple regression analytic approach. Our results indicated that morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge accounted for a large portion of the variance (82%-95%) in reading comprehension skills across all quantiles. Morphological awareness exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at lower levels of reading comprehension whereas vocabulary knowledge exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at higher levels of reading comprehension. These results indicate the utility of using multiple quantile regression to assess trajectories of component skills across multiple levels of reading comprehension. The implications of our findings for ABE programs are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  1. The Link between Text Difficulty, Reading Speed and Exploration of Printed Text during Shared Book Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roy-Charland, Annie; Perron, Melanie; Turgeon, Krystle-Lee; Hoffman, Nichola; Chamberland, Justin A.

    2016-01-01

    In the current study the reading speed of the narration and the difficulty of the text was manipulated and links were explored with children's attention to the printed text in shared book reading. Thirty-nine children (24 grade 1 and 15 grade 2) were presented easy and difficult books at slow (syllable by syllable) or fast (adult reading speed)…

  2. Parallel versus sequential processing in print and braille reading.

    PubMed

    Veispak, Anneli; Boets, Bart; Ghesquière, Pol

    2012-01-01

    In the current study we investigated word, pseudoword and story reading in Dutch speaking braille and print readers. To examine developmental patterns, these reading skills were assessed in both children and adults. The results reveal that braille readers read less accurately and fast than print readers. While item length has no impact on word reading accuracy and speed in the group of print readers, it has a significant impact on reading accuracy and speed in the group of braille readers, particularly in the younger sample. This suggests that braille readers rely more strongly on an enduring sequential reading strategy. Comparison of the different reading tasks suggests that the advantage in accuracy and speed of reading in adult as compared to young braille readers is achieved through semantic top-down processing. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Assessing Students' Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Reichard, Carla A.

    2002-01-01

    Describes development and validation of a new self-report instrument, the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory, designed to assess adolescent and adult readers' metacognitive awareness and perceived use of reading strategies while reading academic materials. After a brief review of the literature, the development and validation…

  4. Individual Differences in Skilled Adult Readers Reveal Dissociable Patterns of Neural Activity Associated with Component Processes of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Welcome, Suzanne E.; Joanisse, Marc F.

    2012-01-01

    We used fMRI to examine patterns of brain activity associated with component processes of visual word recognition and their relationships to individual differences in reading skill. We manipulated both the judgments adults made on written stimuli and the characteristics of the stimuli. Phonological processing led to activation in left inferior…

  5. Habit Reversal as a Treatment for Chronic Skin Picking: A Pilot Investigation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teng, Ellen J.; Woods, Douglas W.; Twohig, Michael P.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of habit reversal (HR) to a wait-list control as a treatment for chronic skin picking in adults. Twenty-five adults with a chronic skin-picking problem were randomly assigned to a wait-list control or HR group. At pretreatment, posttreatment, and a 3-month follow-up, self-reported skin…

  6. Individual differences in children's pronoun processing during reading: Detection of incongruence is associated with higher reading fluency and more regressions.

    PubMed

    Eilers, Sarah; Tiffin-Richards, Simon P; Schroeder, Sascha

    2018-05-10

    In two eye tracking experiments, we tested fourth graders' and adults' sensitivity to gender feature mismatches during reading of pronouns and their susceptibility to interference of feature-matching entities in the sentence. In Experiment 1, we showed children and adults two-phrase sentences such as "Leon{m}/Lisa{f} shooed away the sparrow{m}/the seagull{f} and then he{m} ate the tasty sandwich." Eye tracking measures showed no qualitative differences between children's and adults' processing of the pronouns. Both age groups showed longer gaze durations on subject mismatching than on matching pronouns, and there was no evidence of interference of a gender-matching object. Strikingly, in contrast to the adults, not all fourth graders reported detection of the subject gender mismatch. In Experiment 2, we replicated earlier results with a larger sample of children (N = 75) and found that only half of the fourth graders detected the gender mismatch during reading. The detectors' reading pattern at the pronoun differed from that of the non-detectors. Children who reported detection of the mismatch showed a reading pattern more similar to the adults. Children who did not report detection of the mismatch had comparably slower gaze durations and were less likely to make regressions directly at the pronoun. We conclude that children who read more fluently use their available processing resources to immediately repair grammatical inconsistencies encountered in a text. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Co-production and Pilot of a Structured Interview Using Talking Mats® to Survey the Television Viewing Habits and Preferences of Adults and Young People with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bunning, Karen; Alder, Ruth; Proudman, Lydia; Wyborn, Harriet

    2017-01-01

    Background: Capturing the views of people with learning disabilities is not straightforward. Talking Mats® has been used successfully to solicit the views of such individuals. The aim was to co-produce an interview schedule using Talking Mats® on the subject of television-viewing habits and preferences of adults and young people with learning…

  8. Using nutrition labeling as a potential tool for changing eating habits of university dining hall patrons.

    PubMed

    Driskell, Judy A; Schake, Marian C; Detter, Hillary A

    2008-12-01

    The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the influence of the nutritional labeling Nutrition Bytes on the eating habits of adults eating in dining halls at a Midwestern university and to assess differences between sexes. Dining hall patrons (114 men, 91 women) 19 years of age or older voluntarily completed a descriptive 15-item written questionnaire that examined the use and nonuse of Nutrition Bytes, which contains much of the information included in the Nutrition Facts label. A significantly higher percentage of women than men patrons reported currently using Nutrition Bytes labels (P<0.001). Predominant reasons for using Nutrition Bytes labels were: general knowledge, concern about overall health, calorie counting, and concern about a certain nutrient(s). Predominant reasons given for not using Nutrition Bytes labels were: will not change my mind about food items selected and not enough time. Reasons given by men and women for using or not using Nutrition Bytes labels were similar. Significantly higher percentages of women than men using Nutrition Bytes labels indicated being interested in having serving sizes (P<0.005) and ingredients (P<0.0005) listed, whereas higher percentages of men than women indicated being interested in having protein listed (P<0.05). The percentages of users who indicated nearly always and sometimes changing their food choices after reading Nutrition Bytes labels inside the dining halls were 12% and 80%, respectively, whereas 23% and 65%, respectively, indicated changing their food choices after reading the nutrition label when eating outside the dining halls. Nutrition Bytes labeling seemed to positively impact food choices of these adult dining hall patrons, and likely would do so at other dining halls.

  9. The Peter Effect Revisited: Reading Habits and Attitudes of College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Applegate, Anthony J.; Applegate, Mary DeKonty; Mercantini, Martha A.; McGeehan, Catherine M.; Cobb, Jeanne B.; DeBoy, Joanne R.; Modla, Virginia B.; Lewinski, Kimberly E.

    2014-01-01

    Certainly a primary goal of literacy education is the creation of avid, enthusiastic, and highly motivated readers. However, in this article revisiting the Peter Effect (Applegate & Applegate, 2004), researchers surveyed more than 1,000 college sophomores and found strikingly low levels of enthusiasm for reading. Only 46.6% of surveyed…

  10. The Relationship of the Component Skills of Reading to IALS Performance: Tipping Points and Five Classes of Adult Literacy Learners. NCSALL Reports #29

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strucker, John; Yamamoto, Kentaro; Kirsch, Irwin

    2007-01-01

    This study's aim was to understand the relationship of the component skills of reading, such as word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling, to large-scale measures of literacy, such as the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) (Kirsch, Jungleblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) and the closely related International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)…

  11. Parents' Shared Storybook Reading--Learning to Read

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saracho, Olivia N.

    2017-01-01

    Parents engage in joint story book sharing where adults read an appropriate text to children, usually in the home environment. Story book sharing promotes the young children's development of receptive and expressive language abilities as well as their emerging early literacy abilities, which have an effect on the children's success in school-based…

  12. Taxonomy of Reading Skills and Materials for Youths and Adults. A System of Prescribing for Individual Skill Deficiencies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giuliano, Helen Solana; And Others

    This Taxonomy was designed to assist the instructor or reading specialist in the identification and location of specific instructional materials that can be used for remediation of skill deficiencies. The Taxonomy was developed by the White Plains Adult Education Center, and a description of the Center's program and method of integrating the…

  13. Teaching Generalized Reading of Product Warning Labels to Young Adults with Autism Using the Constant Time Delay Procedure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogoe, Maud S.; Banda, Devender R.; Lock, Robin H.; Feinstein, Rita

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the effectiveness of the constant timed delay procedure for teaching two young adults with autism to read, define, and state the contextual meaning of keywords on product warning labels of common household products. Training sessions were conducted in the dyad format using flash cards. Results indicated that both participants…

  14. Do reading additions improve reading in pre-presbyopes with low vision?

    PubMed

    Alabdulkader, Balsam; Leat, Susan

    2012-09-01

    This study compared three different methods of determining a reading addition and the possible improvement on reading performance in children and young adults with low vision. Twenty-eight participants with low vision, aged 8 to 32 years, took part in the study. Reading additions were determined with (a) a modified Nott dynamic retinoscopy, (b) a subjective method, and (c) an age-based formula. Reading performance was assessed with MNREAD-style reading charts at 12.5 cm, with and without each reading addition in random order. Outcome measures were reading speed, critical print size, MNREAD threshold, and the area under the reading speed curve. For the whole group, there was no significant improvement in reading performance with any of the additions. When participants with normal accommodation at 12.5 cm were excluded, the area under the reading speed curve was significantly greater with all reading additions compared with no addition (p = 0.031, 0.028, and 0.028, respectively). Also, the reading acuity threshold was significantly better with all reading additions compared with no addition (p = 0.014, 0.030, and 0.036, respectively). Distance and near visual acuity, age, and contrast sensitivity did not predict improvement with a reading addition. All, but one, of the participants who showed a significant improvement in reading with an addition had reduced accommodation. A reading addition may improve reading performance for young people with low vision and should be considered as part of a low vision assessment, particularly when accommodation is reduced.

  15. Listening and Reading Comprehension at Story Time: How to Build Habits of the Mind

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Mary Ruth; Hall, Susan

    2012-01-01

    Understanding a story is an active process, whether children have listened to it being read aloud or, when they are older and read it for themselves. When children grasp a story, they (1) attend to what is important; (2) anticipate what is to come; and (3) build meaningful patterns from the many details. These active interactions with a story can…

  16. Left face matching bias: right hemisphere dominance or scanning habits?

    PubMed

    Megreya, Ahmed M; Havard, Catriona

    2011-01-01

    A large body of work report a leftward bias in face processing. However, it is not clear whether this leftward bias purely reflects the dominance of the right hemisphere or is influenced by scanning habits developed by reading directions. Here, we report two experiments examining how well native readers of right to left Arabic scripts (Egyptians) could match (for identity) a target face that appeared with a companion to a line-up of 10 faces. There was a significant advantage for matching faces that appeared on the left. However, Experiment 2 found that the magnitude of this left face matching bias was almost three times weaker than the magnitude of the leftward bias shown by native readers of left to right English scripts (British). Accordingly, we suggest that the right hemisphere dominance for face processing underlies the leftward face perception bias, but with the interaction of scanning habits.

  17. The Neurobiological Basis of Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joseph, Jane; Noble, Kimberly; Eden, Guinevere

    2001-01-01

    This paper reviews studies using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging in adults to study the reading process and notes that general networks of regions seem to be uniquely associated with different components of the reading process. Findings are evaluated in light of technical and experimental limitations and…

  18. Teaching Reading through Language. TECHNIQUES.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Edward V.

    1986-01-01

    Because reading is first and foremost a language comprehension process focusing on the visual form of spoken language, such teaching strategies as language experience and assisted reading have much to offer beginning readers. These techniques have been slow to become accepted by many adult literacy instructors; however, the two strategies,…

  19. The New York Times Report on Teenage Reading Tastes and Habits.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freiberger, Rema

    In order to learn whether teenagers are reading books and, if so, which books they choose, "The New York Times" conducted a fact-finding project. Questionnaires were mailed to the school librarians and English chairmen of 7000 secondary and intermediate schools. The wide variety of answers to observable trends necessitated the analysis of a random…

  20. College and Adult Reading X: The Tenth Yearbook of the North Central Reading Association.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, Joseph A., Ed.

    Including sections on research, programs, and professional problems and issues, this yearbook contains presentations given at the 1978 and 1979 meetings of the North Central Reading Association. Papers include: "The Effects of Anxiety on Reading Comprehension" (David Wark and others); "Some Effects of Anxiety on University Students" (J. Michael…

  1. The attentional blink is related to phonemic decoding, but not sight-word recognition, in typically reading adults.

    PubMed

    Tyson-Parry, Maree M; Sailah, Jessica; Boyes, Mark E; Badcock, Nicholas A

    2015-10-01

    This research investigated the relationship between the attentional blink (AB) and reading in typical adults. The AB is a deficit in the processing of the second of two rapidly presented targets when it occurs in close temporal proximity to the first target. Specifically, this experiment examined whether the AB was related to both phonological and sight-word reading abilities, and whether the relationship was mediated by accuracy on a single-target rapid serial visual processing task (single-target accuracy). Undergraduate university students completed a battery of tests measuring reading ability, non-verbal intelligence, and rapid automatised naming, in addition to rapid serial visual presentation tasks in which they were required to identify either two (AB task) or one (single target task) target/s (outlined shapes: circle, square, diamond, cross, and triangle) in a stream of random-dot distractors. The duration of the AB was related to phonological reading (n=41, β=-0.43): participants who exhibited longer ABs had poorer phonemic decoding skills. The AB was not related to sight-word reading. Single-target accuracy did not mediate the relationship between the AB and reading, but was significantly related to AB depth (non-linear fit, R(2)=.50): depth reflects the maximal cost in T2 reporting accuracy in the AB. The differential relationship between the AB and phonological versus sight-word reading implicates common resources used for phonemic decoding and target consolidation, which may be involved in cognitive control. The relationship between single-target accuracy and the AB is discussed in terms of cognitive preparation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The role of reading time complexity and reading speed in text comprehension.

    PubMed

    Wallot, Sebastian; O'Brien, Beth A; Haussmann, Anna; Kloos, Heidi; Lyby, Marlene S

    2014-11-01

    Reading speed is commonly used as an index of reading fluency. However, reading speed is not a consistent predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured on the same text within the same reader. This might be due to the somewhat ambiguous nature of reading speed, which is sometimes regarded as a feature of the reading process, and sometimes as a product of that process. We argue that both reading speed and comprehension should be seen as the result of the reading process, and that the process of fluent text reading can instead be described by complexity metrics that quantify aspects of the stability of the reading process. In this article, we introduce complexity metrics in the context of reading and apply them to data from a self-paced reading study. In this study, children and adults read a text silently or aloud and answered comprehension questions after reading. Our results show that recurrence metrics that quantify the degree of temporal structure in reading times yield better prediction of text comprehension compared to reading speed. However, the results for fractal metrics are less clear. Furthermore, prediction of text comprehension is generally strongest and most consistent across silent and oral reading when comprehension scores are normalized by reading speed. Analyses of word length and word frequency indicate that the observed complexity in reading times is not a simple function of the lexical properties of the text, suggesting that text reading might work differently compared to reading of isolated word or sentences. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Reading Aloud: Children's Attitudes toward Being Read to at Home and at School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ledger, Susan; Merga, Margaret K.

    2018-01-01

    Whilst there exists a plethora of research about the benefits of reading aloud on children's literacy development and a range of government reports highlighting the positive investment return on early intervention strategies such as reading aloud, most literature is presented from an adult perspective. Limited research exists on children's…

  4. Polish Adult Reading Test (PART) - construction of Polish test for estimating the level of premorbid intelligence in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Karakuła-Juchnowicz, Hanna; Stecka, Mariola

    2017-08-29

    In view of unavailability in Poland of the standardized methods to measure PIQ, the aim of the work was to develop a Polish test to assess the premorbid level of intelligence - PART(Polish AdultReading Test) and to measureits psychometric properties, such as validity, reliability as well as standardization in the group of schizophrenia patients. The principles of PART construction were based on the idea of popular worldwide National Adult Reading Test by Hazel Nelson. The research comprised a group of 122 subjects (65 schizophrenia patients and 57 healthy people), aged 18-60 years, matched for age and gender. PART appears to be a method with high internal consistency and reliability measured by test-retest, inter-rater reliability, and the method with acceptable diagnostic and prognostic validity. The standardized procedures of PART have been investigated and described. Considering the psychometric values of PART and a short time of its performance, the test may be a useful diagnostic instrument in the assessment of premorbid level of intelligence in a group of schizophrenic patients.

  5. The Reading Glitch: How the Culture Wars Have Hijacked Reading Instruction--And What We Can Do about It

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sherman, Lee; Ramsey, Betsy

    2006-01-01

    Reading disability and illiteracy are among the most pressing educational issues facing the United States today. At least 40 percent of America's fourth-graders are unable to read at grade level and a similar proportion of adults read at the lowest two levels of prose literacy. Here, the authors present an unflinching examination of the science…

  6. Oral Language and Reading Success: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beron, Kurt J.; Farkas, George

    2004-01-01

    Oral language skills and habits may serve as important resources for success or failure in school-related tasks such as learning to read. This article tests this hypothesis utilizing a unique data set, the original Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised norming sample. This article assesses the importance of oral language by focusing…

  7. Integrating Reading, Writing, and Thinking Skills into the Music Class.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duke, Charles R.

    Music education is uniquely suited to reinforce several basic skills that are part of the overall reading and writing processes of students. These skills include freedom of expression and the fluency of ideas, identifying a composer's purpose and message, and reasoning and comprehension. Musicians should develop the habit of using journals for…

  8. Are "Habitable" Exoplanets Really Habitable? -A perspective from atmospheric loss

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, C.; Huang, Z.; Jin, M.; Lingam, M.; Ma, Y. J.; Toth, G.; van der Holst, B.; Airapetian, V.; Cohen, O.; Gombosi, T. I.

    2017-12-01

    In the last two decades, the field of exoplanets has witnessed a tremendous creative surge. Research in exoplanets now encompasses a wide range of fields ranging from astrophysics to heliophysics and atmospheric science. One of the primary objectives of studying exoplanets is to determine the criteria for habitability, and whether certain exoplanets meet these requirements. The classical definition of the Habitable Zone (HZ) is the region around a star where liquid water can exist on the planetary surface given sufficient atmospheric pressure. However, this definition largely ignores the impact of the stellar wind and stellar magnetic activity on the erosion of an exoplanet's atmosphere. Amongst the many factors that determine habitability, understanding the mechanisms of atmospheric loss is of paramount importance. We will discuss the impact of exoplanetary space weather on climate and habitability, which offers fresh insights concerning the habitability of exoplanets, especially those orbiting M-dwarfs, such as Proxima b and the TRAPPIST-1 system. For each case, we will demonstrate the importance of the exoplanetary space weather on atmospheric ion loss and habitability.

  9. Measurement of exercise habits and prediction of leisure-time activity in established exercise.

    PubMed

    Tappe, Karyn A; Glanz, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Habit formation may be important to maintaining repetitive healthy behaviors like exercise. Existing habit questionnaires only measure part of the definition of habit (automaticity; frequency). A novel habit questionnaire was evaluated that measured contextual cueing. We designed a two-stage observational cohort study of regular exercisers. For stage 1, we conducted an in-person interview on a university campus. For stage 2, we conducted an internet-based survey. Participants were 156 adults exercising at least once per week. A novel measure, The Exercise Habit Survey (EHS) assessed contextual cueing through 13 questions on constancy of place, time, people, and exercise behaviors. A subset of the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI), measuring automaticity, was also collected along with measures of intention and self-efficacy, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), leisure-time section. The EHS was evaluated using factor analysis and test-retest reliability. Its correlation to other exercise predictors and exercise behavior was evaluated using Pearson's r and hierarchical regression. Results suggested that the EHS comprised four subscales (People, Place, Time, Exercise Constancy). Only Exercise Constancy correlated significantly with SRHI. Only the People subscale predicted IPAQ exercise metabolic equivalents. The SRHI was a strong predictor. Contextual cueing is an important aspect of habit but measurement methodologies warrant refinement and comparison by different methods.

  10. Nutritional habits in Italian university students.

    PubMed

    Teleman, Adele Anna; de Waure, Chiara; Soffiani, Valentina; Poscia, Andrea; Di Pietro, Maria Luisa

    2015-01-01

    Dietary habits have been indicated by research as key elements in both disease pathogenesis and prevention and health promotion. We analyzed data collected from Italian university students regarding consumption of fruits, vegetables, fast-foods, sweets, energizing drinks, and coffee, average number of eating episodes per day and regularity of breakfast habits. 44% of the university student population eats in average at least 1 portion of fruit per day. 22.5% eats at least 2 portions of vegetables per day. 8.5% eats in average 5 times per day with 48.6% declaring an average of 3 eating episodes per day. 11.3% consumes eccessive amounts of caffeine. 49.1% of the females reaches the recommended consumption of fruit, compared to only 33.8% of males (p < 0.05). 27.7% of females eats at least 2 portions of vegetables per day, compared to 12.0% of males (p < 0.05). Eccessive coffee drinkers pass from 8.9% in the 18-21 age group to 16% in the 25-30 year old age group (p < 0.05). This study showed that the eating habits of young adults do not follow national recommendations. Less than 50% of university students eats at least 1 portion of fruit per day and less than 1 out of 4 eats at least 2 portions of vegetables per day. Less than 10% of the students eats in average 5 times per day and more than 1 out of 3 does not have breakfast regularly every morning. Interventions targeting university students are required in order to increase their knowledge on healthy eating habits and to ameliorate their dietary behaviours.

  11. Examining Associations among ADHD, Homework Behavior, and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Little, Callie W.; Hart, Sara A.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Taylor, Jeanette

    2016-01-01

    Previous literature has indicated an important association between reading comprehension and both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and homework habits. This investigation sought to extend previous knowledge by providing information about how ADHD and homework behavior (i.e., completing homework regularly) may jointly influence…

  12. A Study of Boys' Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Telford, Lesley

    1999-01-01

    Examined how reading attitudes of Year 6 boys in British primary schools were influenced by gender issues, peers, and peer group culture. Found that confidence and experience shown in private reading was at odds with boys' public attitudes in discussion with peers. Suggests that siblings and adults might provide more positive role models for…

  13. What, Why, and How They Read: Reading Preferences and Patterns of Rural Young Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Becnel, Kim; Moeller, Robin A.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to better understand the reading patterns and preferences of rural teen readers and the cultures of reading that do or do not exist in the rural communities in which the teens reside. In addition, the researchers sought to discover, by conducting a series of focus groups, whether rural teen readers felt connected to…

  14. Unhealthy lifestyle habits and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life in youths with type 1 diabetes.

    PubMed

    Mozzillo, Enza; Zito, Eugenio; Maffeis, Claudio; De Nitto, Elena; Maltoni, Giulio; Marigliano, Marco; Zucchini, Stefano; Franzese, Adriana; Valerio, Giuliana

    2017-12-01

    Management of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) influences several aspects of life, such as adherence to healthy lifestyle habits and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Our aim was to evaluate the association between unhealthy lifestyle habits and HRQoL in adolescents and young adults with T1DM. Two hundred and forty-two Caucasian patients (13-19 years) consecutively enrolled over a 12-month period in three Regional Pediatric Diabetes Centers in Italy. Demographics, clinical, and laboratory parameters, adherence to lifestyle habits (Mediterranean Diet assessed by KIDMED, Physical Activity levels and sedentary behavior by questionnaire) considered either separately or in cluster, and HRQoL by Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Diabetes Module (PedsQL 3.0 DM) were collected. Metabolic control was determined by HbA1c mean of previous year. Only 15 (6.2%) patients fulfilled the cluster of three healthy lifestyle habits without gender differences (p = 0.353); 62 (25.6%) had 1 unhealthy lifestyle habit, and 165 (68.2%) had ≥2. Adolescents meeting physical activity recommendations had better PedsQL scores than those who did not meet. PedsQL total score and specific sub-scales decreased in patients with unhealthy lifestyle habits. High PedsQL was significantly associated with being male, living in South Italy, having lower HbA1c mean levels, and reporting lower adherence to unhealthy lifestyle habits. The clustering of unhealthy lifestyle habits is associated with reduced HRQoL in adolescents and young adults with T1DM. Promoting multiple behavior changes may be a useful approach to improve the health status and the HRQoL in youths with T1DM.

  15. Subjective impressions do not mirror online reading effort: concurrent EEG-eyetracking evidence from the reading of books and digital media.

    PubMed

    Kretzschmar, Franziska; Pleimling, Dominique; Hosemann, Jana; Füssel, Stephan; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina; Schlesewsky, Matthias

    2013-01-01

    In the rapidly changing circumstances of our increasingly digital world, reading is also becoming an increasingly digital experience: electronic books (e-books) are now outselling print books in the United States and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, many readers still view e-books as less readable than print books. The present study thus used combined EEG and eyetracking measures in order to test whether reading from digital media requires higher cognitive effort than reading conventional books. Young and elderly adults read short texts on three different reading devices: a paper page, an e-reader and a tablet computer and answered comprehension questions about them while their eye movements and EEG were recorded. The results of a debriefing questionnaire replicated previous findings in that participants overwhelmingly chose the paper page over the two electronic devices as their preferred reading medium. Online measures, by contrast, showed shorter mean fixation durations and lower EEG theta band voltage density--known to covary with memory encoding and retrieval--for the older adults when reading from a tablet computer in comparison to the other two devices. Young adults showed comparable fixation durations and theta activity for all three devices. Comprehension accuracy did not differ across the three media for either group. We argue that these results can be explained in terms of the better text discriminability (higher contrast) produced by the backlit display of the tablet computer. Contrast sensitivity decreases with age and degraded contrast conditions lead to longer reading times, thus supporting the conclusion that older readers may benefit particularly from the enhanced contrast of the tablet. Our findings thus indicate that people's subjective evaluation of digital reading media must be dissociated from the cognitive and neural effort expended in online information processing while reading from such devices.

  16. Subjective Impressions Do Not Mirror Online Reading Effort: Concurrent EEG-Eyetracking Evidence from the Reading of Books and Digital Media

    PubMed Central

    Kretzschmar, Franziska; Pleimling, Dominique; Hosemann, Jana; Füssel, Stephan; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina; Schlesewsky, Matthias

    2013-01-01

    In the rapidly changing circumstances of our increasingly digital world, reading is also becoming an increasingly digital experience: electronic books (e-books) are now outselling print books in the United States and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, many readers still view e-books as less readable than print books. The present study thus used combined EEG and eyetracking measures in order to test whether reading from digital media requires higher cognitive effort than reading conventional books. Young and elderly adults read short texts on three different reading devices: a paper page, an e-reader and a tablet computer and answered comprehension questions about them while their eye movements and EEG were recorded. The results of a debriefing questionnaire replicated previous findings in that participants overwhelmingly chose the paper page over the two electronic devices as their preferred reading medium. Online measures, by contrast, showed shorter mean fixation durations and lower EEG theta band voltage density – known to covary with memory encoding and retrieval – for the older adults when reading from a tablet computer in comparison to the other two devices. Young adults showed comparable fixation durations and theta activity for all three devices. Comprehension accuracy did not differ across the three media for either group. We argue that these results can be explained in terms of the better text discriminability (higher contrast) produced by the backlit display of the tablet computer. Contrast sensitivity decreases with age and degraded contrast conditions lead to longer reading times, thus supporting the conclusion that older readers may benefit particularly from the enhanced contrast of the tablet. Our findings thus indicate that people's subjective evaluation of digital reading media must be dissociated from the cognitive and neural effort expended in online information processing while reading from such devices. PMID:23405265

  17. Probiotic-enriched foods and dietary supplement containing SYNBIO positively affects bowel habits in healthy adults: an assessment using standard statistical analysis and Support Vector Machines.

    PubMed

    Silvi, Stefania; Verdenelli, M Cristina; Cecchini, Cinzia; Coman, M Magdalena; Bernabei, M Simonetta; Rosati, Jessica; De Leone, Renato; Orpianesi, Carla; Cresci, Alberto

    2014-12-01

    A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study assessed in healthy adults how daily consumption of the probiotic combination SYNBIO®, administered in probiotic-enriched foods or in a dietary supplement, affected bowel habits. Primary and secondary outcomes gave the overall assessment of bowel well-being, while a Psychological General Well-Being Index compiled by participants estimated the health-related quality of life as well as the gastrointestinal tolerance determined with the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale. Support Vector Machine models for classification problems were used to validate the total outcomes on bowel well-being. SYNBIO® consumption improved bowel habits of volunteers consuming the probiotic foods or capsules, while the same effects were not registered in the control groups. The recovery of probiotic bacteria from the faeces of a cohort of 100 subjects for each supplemented group showed the persistence of strains in the gastrointestinal tract.

  18. Effective literacy instruction for adults with specific learning disabilities: implications for adult educators.

    PubMed

    Hock, Michael F

    2012-01-01

    Adults with learning disabilities (LD) attending adult basic education, GED programs, or community colleges are among the lowest performers on measures of literacy. For example, on multiple measures of reading comprehension, adults with LD had a mean reading score at the third grade level, whereas adults without LD read at the fifth grade level. In addition, large numbers of adults perform at the lowest skill levels on quantitative tasks. Clearly, significant instructional challenges exist for adults who struggle with literacy issues, and those challenges can be greater for adults with LD. In this article, the literature on adults with LD is reviewed, and evidenced-based instructional practices that significantly narrow the literacy achievement gap for this population are identified. Primary attention is given to instructional factors that have been shown to affect literacy outcomes for adults with LD. These factors include the use of explicit instruction, instructional technology, and intensive tutoring in skills and strategies embedded in authentic contexts.

  19. Orthography and Modality Influence Speech Production in Adults and Children.

    PubMed

    Saletta, Meredith; Goffman, Lisa; Hogan, Tiffany P

    2016-12-01

    The acquisition of literacy skills influences the perception and production of spoken language. We examined if orthography influences implicit processing in speech production in child readers and in adult readers with low and high reading proficiency. Children (n = 17), adults with typical reading skills (n = 17), and adults demonstrating low reading proficiency (n = 18) repeated or read aloud nonwords varying in orthographic transparency. Analyses of implicit linguistic processing (segmental accuracy and speech movement stability) were conducted. The accuracy and articulatory stability of productions of the nonwords were assessed before and after repetition or reading. Segmental accuracy results indicate that all 3 groups demonstrated greater learning when they were able to read, rather than just hear, the nonwords. Speech movement results indicate that, for adults with poor reading skills, exposure to the nonwords in a transparent spelling reduces the articulatory variability of speech production. Reading skill was correlated with speech movement stability in the groups of adults. In children and adults, orthography interacts with speech production; all participants integrate orthography into their lexical representations. Adults with poor reading skills do not use the same reading or speaking strategies as children with typical reading skills.

  20. Orthography and Modality Influence Speech Production in Adults and Children

    PubMed Central

    Goffman, Lisa; Hogan, Tiffany P.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The acquisition of literacy skills influences the perception and production of spoken language. We examined if orthography influences implicit processing in speech production in child readers and in adult readers with low and high reading proficiency. Method Children (n = 17), adults with typical reading skills (n = 17), and adults demonstrating low reading proficiency (n = 18) repeated or read aloud nonwords varying in orthographic transparency. Analyses of implicit linguistic processing (segmental accuracy and speech movement stability) were conducted. The accuracy and articulatory stability of productions of the nonwords were assessed before and after repetition or reading. Results Segmental accuracy results indicate that all 3 groups demonstrated greater learning when they were able to read, rather than just hear, the nonwords. Speech movement results indicate that, for adults with poor reading skills, exposure to the nonwords in a transparent spelling reduces the articulatory variability of speech production. Reading skill was correlated with speech movement stability in the groups of adults. Conclusions In children and adults, orthography interacts with speech production; all participants integrate orthography into their lexical representations. Adults with poor reading skills do not use the same reading or speaking strategies as children with typical reading skills. PMID:27942710

  1. Habitable Zone Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Waltham, D.; Lota, J.

    2012-12-01

    The location of the habitable zone around a star depends upon stellar luminosity and upon the properties of a potentially habitable planet such as its mass and near-surface volatile inventory. Stellar luminosity generally increases as a star ages whilst planetary properties change through time as a consequence of biological and geological evolution. Hence, the location of the habitable zone changes through time as a result of both stellar evolution and planetary evolution. Using the Earth's Phanerozoic temperature history as a constraint, it is shown that changes in our own habitable zone over the last 540 My have been dominated by planetary evolution rather than solar evolution. Furthermore, sparse data from earlier times suggests that planetary evolution may have dominated habitable zone development throughout our biosphere's history. Hence, the existence of a continuously habitable zone depends upon accidents of complex bio-geochemical evolution more than it does upon relatively simple stellar-evolution. Evolution of the inner margin of the habitable zone through time using three different estimates for climate sensitivity. The dashed line shows a typical predicted evolution assuming this was driven simply by a steady increase in solar luminosity. Solar evolution does not account for the observations. Evolution of the outer margin of the habitable zone through time using three different estimates for climate sensitivity. The dashed line shows a typical predicted evolution assuming this was driven simply by a steady increase in solar luminosity. Solar evolution does not account for the observations.

  2. Planning to break unwanted habits: habit strength moderates implementation intention effects on behaviour change.

    PubMed

    Webb, Thomas L; Sheeran, Paschal; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

    2009-09-01

    Implementation intention formation promotes effective goal striving and goal attainment. However, little research has investigated whether implementation intentions promote behaviour change when people possess strong antagonistic habits. Experiment 1 developed relatively habitual responses that, after a task switch, had a detrimental impact on task performance. Forming an if-then plan reduced the negative impact of habit on performance. However, the effect of forming implementation intentions was smaller among participants who possessed strong habits as compared to participants who had weaker habits. Experiment 2 provided a field test of the role of habit strength in moderating the relationship between implementation intentions and behaviour in the context of smoking. Implementation intentions reduced smoking among participants with weak or moderate smoking habits, but not among participants with strong smoking habits. In summary, habit strength moderates the effectiveness of if-then plan formation in breaking unwanted habits.

  3. Speech Effort Measurement and Stuttering: Investigating the Chorus Reading Effect

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ingham, Roger J.; Warner, Allison; Byrd, Anne; Cotton, John

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate chorus reading's (CR's) effect on speech effort during oral reading by adult stuttering speakers and control participants. The effect of a speech effort measurement highlighting strategy was also investigated. Method: Twelve persistent stuttering (PS) adults and 12 normally fluent control…

  4. Beyond decoding: phonological processing during silent reading in beginning readers.

    PubMed

    Blythe, Hazel I; Pagán, Ascensión; Dodd, Megan

    2015-07-01

    In this experiment, the extent to which beginning readers process phonology during lexical identification in silent sentence reading was investigated. The eye movements of children aged seven to nine years and adults were recorded as they read sentences containing either a correctly spelled target word (e.g., girl), a pseudohomophone (e.g., gerl), or a spelling control (e.g., garl). Both children and adults showed a benefit from the valid phonology of the pseudohomophone, compared to the spelling control during reading. This indicates that children as young as seven years old exhibit relatively skilled phonological processing during reading, despite having moved past the use of overt phonological decoding strategies. In addition, in comparison to adults, children's lexical processing was more disrupted by the presence of spelling errors, suggesting a developmental change in the relative dependence upon phonological and orthographic processing in lexical identification during silent sentence reading. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  5. Explaining the association between music training and reading in adults.

    PubMed

    Swaminathan, Swathi; Schellenberg, E Glenn; Venkatesan, Kirthika

    2018-06-01

    We sought to clarify whether the positive association between music lessons and reading ability is explained better by shared resources for processing pitch and temporal information, or by general cognitive abilities. Participants were native and nonnative speakers of English with varying levels of music training. We measured reading ability (comprehension and speed), music-perception skills (melody and rhythm), general cognitive ability (nonverbal intelligence, short-term memory, and working memory), and socioeconomic status (SES; family income, parents' education). Reading ability was associated positively with music training, English as a native language, and general cognitive ability. The association between reading and music training was significant after SES, native language, and music-perception skills were controlled. After general cognitive abilities were held constant, however, there was no longer an association between reading and music training. These findings suggest that the association between reading ability and music training is a consequence of general cognitive abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Effects of sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits on body mass index change among adult women in India: findings from a follow-up study.

    PubMed

    Agrawal, Praween; Gupta, Kamla; Mishra, Vinod; Agrawal, Sutapa

    2013-01-01

    We examined the effects of sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits on body mass index (BMI) change in a follow-up study of 325 women (aged 15-49 years) in Delhi, systematically selected from the 1998-1999 National Family Health Survey samples who were re-interviewed after 4 years in 2003. Information was collected on height, weight, dietary habits, and sedentary lifestyle through face-to-face interviews. Overall, a 2.0-point increase in mean BMI was found among women in just 4 years. Every second normal-BMI woman, two in five overweight women, and every fourth obese woman experienced a > 2.0-point increase in her mean BMI. High sedentary lifestyle (OR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.29-5.35) emerged as the main predictor of a > 2.0-point increase in mean BMI in adjusted analysis, but there was weak evidence of association with the dietary covariates. Our findings suggest that a high sedentary lifestyle is a determinant of weight gain among adult women in urban India.

  7. Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle and Dietary Habits on Body Mass Index Change among Adult Women in India: Findings from a Follow-Up Study

    PubMed Central

    Agrawal, Praween; Gupta, Kamla; Mishra, Vinod; Agrawal, Sutapa

    2017-01-01

    We examined the effects of sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits on body mass index (BMI) change in a follow-up study of 325 women (aged 15–49 years) in Delhi, systematically selected from the 1998–1999 National Family Health Survey samples who were re-interviewed after 4 years in 2003. Information was collected on height, weight, dietary habits, and sedentary lifestyle through face-to-face interviews. Overall, a 2.0-point increase in mean BMI was found among women in just 4 years. Every second normal-BMI woman, two in five overweight women, and every fourth obese woman experienced a > 2.0-point increase in her mean BMI. High sedentary lifestyle (OR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.29–5.35) emerged as the main predictor of a > 2.0-point increase in mean BMI in adjusted analysis, but there was weak evidence of association with the dietary covariates. Our findings suggest that a high sedentary lifestyle is a determinant of weight gain among adult women in urban India. PMID:23927045

  8. Putting habit into practice, and practice into habit: a process evaluation and exploration of the acceptability of a habit-based dietary behaviour change intervention.

    PubMed

    Gardner, Benjamin; Sheals, Kate; Wardle, Jane; McGowan, Laura

    2014-10-30

    Forming 'habit' - defined as a learned process that generates automatic responses to contextual cues - has been suggested as a mechanism for behaviour maintenance, but few studies have applied habit theory to behaviour change. This study used process evaluation data, taken from a randomised controlled trial of a healthy child-feeding intervention for parents previously shown to be effective, to explore the applicability to dietary behaviour change of predictions and recommendations drawn from habit theory. The intervention supported parents in pursuing child-feeding habit goals in three domains (giving fruit and vegetables, water, healthy snacks), over four fortnightly home visits. We explored whether (a) the habit-formation model was acceptable to participants, (b) better-specified habit-formation goals yielded greater habit gains, and (c) habit gains were sustained (d) even when subsequent, new habit goals were pursued. Qualitative and quantitative data were taken from 57 parents randomised to the intervention arm, and so analyses presented here used a pre-post intervention design. Thematic analysis of post-intervention qualitative interviews evaluated acceptability, and self-reported habit goals were content-analysed. ANOVAs explored changes in habit strength, recorded at home visits and one- and two-month follow-ups, across time and goals. Participants understood and engaged positively with the habit-formation approach. Although many seemingly poorly-specified habit goals were set, goal characteristics had minimal impact on habit strength, which were achieved within two weeks for all behaviours (p's < .001), and were maintained or had increased further by the final follow-up. The habit-formation model appears to be an acceptable and fruitful basis for dietary behaviour change.

  9. Selection of the optimum font type and size interface for on screen continuous reading by young adults: an ergonomic approach.

    PubMed

    Banerjee, Jayeeta; Bhattacharyya, Moushum

    2011-12-01

    There is a rapid shifting of media: from printed paper to computer screens. This transition is modifying the process of how we read and understand text. The efficiency of reading is dependent on how ergonomically the visual information is presented. Font types and size characteristics have been shown to affect reading. A detailed investigation of the effect of the font type and size on reading on computer screens has been carried out by using subjective, objective and physiological evaluation methods on young adults. A group of young participants volunteered for this study. Two types of fonts were used: Serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Courier New) and Sans serif fonts (Verdana, Arial, Tahoma). All fonts were presented in 10, 12 and 14 point sizes. This study used a 6 X 3 (font type X size) design matrix. Participants read 18 passages of approximately the same length and reading level on a computer monitor. Reading time, ranking and overall mental workload were measured. Eye movements were recorded by a binocular eye movement recorder. Reading time was minimum for Courier New l4 point. The participants' ranking was highest and mental workload was least for Verdana 14 point. The pupil diameter, fixation duration and gaze duration were least for Courier New 14 point. The present study recommends using 14 point sized fonts for reading on computer screen. Courier New is recommended for fast reading while for on screen presentation Verdana is recommended. The outcome of this study will help as a guideline to all the PC users, software developers, web page designers and computer industry as a whole.

  10. Substance Abuse in the Workingplace: Readings in the Labor-Management Issues.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hogler, Raymond L., Ed.

    This document contains a collection of readings offering a broad overview of the subject of drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace. Included are: (1) "'Miller Time' in Antebellum America: An Historical Appraisal of the Drinking Habits of the Working Class" (John C. McWilliams); (2) "The Impact of Substance Abuse at the…

  11. Students with Reading and Writing Challenges: Using Informal Assessment to Assist in Planning for the Transition to Adult Life

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sitlington, Patricia L.

    2008-01-01

    The transition to adult life for students with reading and writing challenges is an area that is not often addressed. The purpose of this article is to relate the informal assessment process to the broader context of high stakes assessment, high school exit exams, diploma options, and transition planning; identify the competencies needed for a…

  12. Understanding college students' fruit consumption. Integrating habit strength in the theory of planned behaviour.

    PubMed

    de Bruijn, Gert-Jan

    2010-02-01

    The additive and interactive effect of habit strength in the explanation of young adults' fruit consumption was studied within the context of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Additionally, behavioural and control beliefs were modelled as predictors of profile membership based on current fruit consumption, motivation and habit strength towards fruit consumption. Cross-sectional data were available from undergraduate students (n=538; mean age=21.19; S.D.=2.57) who completed measures of fruit consumption, habit strength, TPB-concepts, and behavioural and control beliefs. Data were analyzed using stepwise regression analysis, simple slope analysis, and discriminant function analysis. Results showed that, based on a significant intention x habit interaction (beta=.13), the intention-fruit consumption relationship was more than twice as strong at low levels of habit strength (beta=.39) than at high levels of habit strength (beta=.16). Furthermore, beliefs regarding health and weight management were relatively unable to distinguish profiles created from motivation, habit strength and current fruit consumption. Rather, beliefs about controllability of fruit consumption were amongst the most consistent discriminating beliefs. Findings suggest that stronger fruit consumption habits make fruit consumption less intentional and that interventions aiming to increase fruit consumption may need to develop persuasive messages focusing on situational beliefs, rather than emphasizing health outcomes. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. A Quantile Regression Approach to Understanding the Relations among Morphological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint and unique contributions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at five reading comprehension levels in adult basic education (ABE) students. We introduce the statistical technique of multiple quantile regression, which enabled us to assess the predictive utility of morphological…

  14. Conflicting Cultures: Reflections on the Reading and Viewing of Secondary-School Pupils.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benton, Peter

    1995-01-01

    Surveys the reading and viewing habits of British teenagers. Discovers that, although U.S. horror fiction (R. L. Stine, Stephen King) tops the lists, a wide diversity exists among the less popular authors. Reveals marked gender differences in amount of time spent viewing videos, television, and computer games. (MJP)

  15. Investigating Reading Metacognitive Strategy Awareness of Elementary Children: A Developmental Continuum Emerges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cobb, Jeanne B.

    2017-01-01

    This article describes a descriptive study utilizing a picture protocol technique that integrated the use of photographs of good readers and children's representational drawings with informal conversations about their habits and behaviors before, during, and after reading. The research participants included 228 children in kindergarten through 5th…

  16. Achieving Adult Literacy. Fastback 330.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farris, Pamela J.

    Leaders in business and industry are demanding workers who not only can read and write but can think creatively and critically and solve problems. Federal- and state-funded programs and volunteer organizations are involved with adult literacy. Increasingly, corporations are funding adult literacy projects. Adults read for different reasons than…

  17. Computer Applications in Reading. Third Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanchard, Jay S.; And Others

    Intended as a reference for researchers, teachers, and administrators, this book chronicles research, programs, and uses of computers in reading. Chapter 1 provides a broad view of computer applications in education, while Chapter 2 provides annotated references for computer based reading and language arts programs for children and adults in…

  18. Computer Aided Lip Reading Training Tool

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarmasik, Gamze; Dalkilic, Gokhan; Kut, Alp; Cebi, Yalcin; Serbetcioglu, Bulent

    2007-01-01

    Worldwide auditory-verbal education is becoming widespread for deaf children. But many prelingually, late-diagnosed deaf children and adults may utilize neither hearing aids nor cochlear implants and needed the support of lip-reading. Therefore, lip-reading skill remains to be important for oral education programmes of hearing impaired. The…

  19. Getting Students to Read: New Materials and Methods.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, Dorothy, Ed.

    1987-01-01

    Focusing on young adult reading and instruction, this issue addresses teachers' concerns about recommended recent authors and books, integrating independent reading into the reading program, and student motivation. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Some YA Authors Worth Knowing, and a Few Books, Too" (Ken Donelson);…

  20. Voyager: Reading and Writing for Today's Adults. Levels 7 and 8 Teacher's Resource Guide [and] Student Book [and] Student Workbook [and] Puzzles [and] Vocabulary Workbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    1999

    This document contains the 9 publications constituting the fourth stage of the Voyager program, which is a four-stage program that utilizes contemporary content and instructional approaches to teach the reading, writing, critical thinking, and communication skills that adults need in today's world and to take adult learners from the beginning…

  1. New and updated tests of print exposure and reading abilities in college students

    PubMed Central

    Acheson, Daniel J.; Wells, Justine B.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

    2010-01-01

    The relationship between print exposure and measures of reading skill was examined in college students (N = 99, 58 female; mean age = 20.3 years). Print exposure was measured with several new self-reports of reading and writing habits, as well as updated versions of the Author Recognition Test and the Magazine Recognition Test (Stanovich & West, 1989). Participants completed a sentence comprehension task with syntactically complex sentences, and reading times and comprehension accuracy were measured. An additional measure of reading skill was provided by participants’ scores on the verbal portions of the ACT, a standardized achievement test. Higher levels of print exposure were associated with higher sentence processing abilities and superior verbal ACT performance. The relative merits of different print exposure assessments are discussed. PMID:18411551

  2. The power of habits: unhealthy snacking behaviour is primarily predicted by habit strength.

    PubMed

    Verhoeven, Aukje A C; Adriaanse, Marieke A; Evers, Catharine; de Ridder, Denise T D

    2012-11-01

    Although increasing evidence shows the importance of habits in explaining health behaviour, many studies still rely solely on predictors that emphasize the role of conscious intentions. The present study was designed to test the importance of habit strength in explaining unhealthy snacking behaviour in a large representative community sample (N= 1,103). To test our hypothesis that habits are crucial when explaining unhealthy snacking behaviour, their role was compared to the 'Power of Food', a related construct that addresses sensitivity to food cues in the environment. Moreover, the relation between Power of Food and unhealthy snacking habits was assessed. A prospective design was used to determine the impact of habits in relation to intention, Power of Food and a number of demographic variables. One month after filling out the questionnaire, including measures of habit strength and Power of Food, participants reported their unhealthy snacking behaviour by means of a 7-day snack diary. Results showed that habit strength was the most important predictor, outperforming all other variables in explaining unhealthy snack intake. The findings demonstrate that snacking habits provide a unique contribution in explaining unhealthy snacking behaviour, stressing the importance of addressing habit strength in further research and interventions concerning unhealthy snacking behaviour. ©2012 The British Psychological Society.

  3. Development of the Korean Adult Reading Test (KART) to estimate premorbid intelligence in dementia patients

    PubMed Central

    Seo, Eun Hyun; Han, Ji Young; Sohn, Bo Kyung; Byun, Min Soo; Lee, Jun Ho; Choe, Young Min; Ahn, Suzy; Woo, Jong Inn; Jun, Jongho; Lee, Dong Young

    2017-01-01

    We aimed to develop a word-reading test for Korean-speaking adults using irregularly pronounced words that would be useful for estimation of premorbid intelligence. A linguist who specialized in Korean phonology selected 94 words that have irregular relationship between orthography and phonology. Sixty cognitively normal elderly (CN) and 31 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were asked to read out loud the words and were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th edition, Korean version (K-WAIS-IV). Among the 94 words, 50 words that did not show a significant difference between the CN and the AD group were selected and constituted the KART. Using the 30 CN calculation group (CNc), a linear regression equation was obtained in which the observed full-scale IQ (FSIQ) was regressed on the reading errors of the KART, where education was included as an additional variable. When the regressed equation computed from the CNc was applied to 30 CN individuals of the validation group (CNv), the predicted FSIQ adequately fit the observed FSIQ (R2 = 0.63). In addition, independent sample t-test showed that the KART-predicted IQs were not significantly different between the CNv and AD groups, whereas the performance of the AD group was significantly worse in the observed IQs. In addition, an extended validation of the KART was performed with a separate sample consisted of 84 CN, 56 elderly with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 43 AD patients who were administered comprehensive neuropsychological assessments in addition to the KART. When the equation obtained from the CNc was applied to the extended validation sample, the KART-predicted IQs of the AD, MCI and the CN groups did not significantly differ, whereas their current global cognition scores significantly differed between the groups. In conclusion, the results support the validity of KART-predicted IQ as an index of premorbid IQ in individuals with AD. PMID:28723964

  4. Relationship between directionality and orientation in drawings by young children and adults.

    PubMed

    Taguchi, Masanori; Noma, Yutaka

    2005-08-01

    The present study examined the relationship between directionality of drawing movements and the orientation of drawn products in right-handed adults and young children for 27 Japanese kindergartners and 29 Japanese university students who were asked to draw with each hand fishes in side view and circles from several starting points. Significant values of chi2 for distributions of frequencies of orientation of the fish drawings and the direction of circular drawing movement indicated that adult right-handers drawing the fish facing to the left tended to draw a circle clock-wise when they drew with the dominant hand, while there was no such significant relationship in young children's drawings. This result may suggest that the reading and writing habits may be implicated in the direction of drawing movements with the dominant hand, and this directional bias of drawing movement in the dominant hand can appear in the orientation of finished drawings.

  5. Exploring the Essential Components of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tindall, Evie; Nisbet, Deanna

    2010-01-01

    Teachers of adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) have increasingly encountered students with limited literacy skills in their native language and/or in English. Yet, many of these practitioners are not adequately equipped to meet the challenge of teaching reading, especially beginning reading skills. Although there is a paucity of…

  6. A Low Vision Reading Comprehension Test.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, G. R.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Fifty adults (ages 28-86) with macular degeneration were given the Low Vision Reading Comprehension Assessment (LVRCA) to test its reliability and validity in evaluating the reading comprehension of those with vision impairments. The LVRCA was found to take only nine minutes to administer and was a valid and reliable tool. (CR)

  7. Social participation of teenagers and young adults with developmental co-ordination disorder and strategies that could help them: results from a scoping review.

    PubMed

    Gagnon-Roy, M; Jasmin, E; Camden, C

    2016-11-01

    The impact of developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) on teenagers' and young adults' participation is not well documented. This article aims to synthesize the current knowledge on social participation, which is the performance of an individual in realizing his or her daily activities and social roles within its life environment. Strategies and interventions to support youths (15-25 years old) with DCD were also synthesized. A scoping review interrogating three databases and using 'snowballing techniques' was performed to identify both scientific and grey literature published between 2004 and 2014. Over 1000 documents were screened and 57 were read in full; 28 met inclusion criteria. A charting form based on 12 life habits described in the disability creation process and developed by two reviewers was used to extract data and report the results. All life habits were reported to be affected for teenagers and young adults with DCD, with education and interpersonal relationships being the most frequently discussed. During adolescence and adulthood, new tasks and subsequent difficulties emerge, such as driving. Mental health difficulties emerged as a key theme. Few strategies and interventions were described to support social participation of youths with DCD. Many life habits are challenging for youths with DCD, but few evidence-based strategies and interventions have been designed to help them to increase their social participation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Mission Possible: READ! Teens Produce Their Own Summer Reading Game.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kellicker, Patricia; Warren, Jesse Cole

    1998-01-01

    Describes "Mission Possible," a summer reading game with an espionage theme developed by young adult readers and the Boulder (Colorado) Public Library. Highlights include instructions for playing the game, sample activity sheets, beginning and culminating activities, daily record keeping, prizes, player evaluations of the game, and…

  9. Planetary Habitability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kasting, James F.

    1997-01-01

    This grant was entitled 'Planetary Habitability' and the work performed under it related to elucidating the conditions that lead to habitable, i.e. Earth-like, planets. Below are listed publications for the past two and a half years that came out of this work. The main thrusts of the research involved: (1) showing under what conditions atmospheric O2 and O3 can be considered as evidence for life on a planet's surface; (2) determining whether CH4 may have played a role in warming early Mars; (3) studying the effect of varying UV levels on Earth-like planets around different types of stars to see whether this would pose a threat to habitability; and (4) studying the effect of chaotic obliquity variations on planetary climates and determining whether planets that experienced such variations might still be habitable. Several of these topics involve ongoing research that has been carried out under a new grant number, but which continues to be funded by NASA's Exobiology program.

  10. Using a Multidimensional Measure of Resilience to Explain Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Adults With Reading Difficulties.

    PubMed

    Stack-Cutler, Holly L; Parrila, Rauno K; Torppa, Minna

    2015-01-01

    We assessed the impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal resilience, persistence, and number of difficulties in addition to reading problems on life satisfaction (general, social, and self) and academic achievement. A total of 120 adults with reading difficulties who either were completing a university degree or were recent graduates responded to an in-lab or online survey. Results indicated that intrapersonal resilience correlated positively with interpersonal resilience and persistence, and both resilience factors were negatively associated with number of difficulties. Using structural equation modeling, intrapersonal resilience explained general satisfaction, intrapersonal resilience and number of difficulties explained self satisfaction, and interpersonal resilience explained social satisfaction. Academic achievement did not correlate with any of the included variables. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  11. The Reading Disc: Learning to Read Using Interactive CD.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaw, Simon

    1991-01-01

    Describes the development of an interactive compact disc on CD-ROM XA that was designed to help adults learn to read. The application of technology to learning is discussed, differences in learner control in computer-based systems are considered, virtual writing is described, and assessment activities available on the disc are explained. (five…

  12. Lateral Biases and Reading Direction: A Dissociation between Aesthetic Preference and Line Bisection

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ishii, Yukiko; Okubo, Matia; Nicholls, Michael E. R.; Imai, Hisato

    2011-01-01

    Perceptual asymmetries for tasks involving aesthetic preference or line bisection can be affected by asymmetrical neurological mechanisms or left/right reading habits. This study investigated the relative contribution of these mechanisms in 100 readers of Japanese and English. Participants made aesthetic judgments between pairs of mirror-reversed…

  13. Intrinsic rewards, fruit and vegetable consumption, and habit strength: a three-wave study testing the associative-cybernetic model.

    PubMed

    Wiedemann, Amelie U; Gardner, Benjamin; Knoll, Nina; Burkert, Silke

    2014-03-01

    Habit formation is thought to lead to long-term maintenance of fruit and vegetable consumption. Habits develop through context-dependent repetition, but additional variables such as intrinsic reward of behaviour may influence habit strength. Drawing upon the Associative-Cybernetic Model, this exploratory study tested different pathways by which intrinsic reward may influence fruit and vegetable consumption habit strength. In a three-wave study of fruit and vegetable intake in adults (N = 127) from the general population, intrinsic reward, intention, and self-efficacy were assessed at baseline, fruit and vegetable consumption and intrinsic reward two weeks later, and habit strength another two weeks later. Direct, indirect, and moderation effects of intrinsic reward on habit strength were tested simultaneously in a moderated mediation model. Intrinsic reward had a positive indirect effect on habit strength through its influence on the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. Further, the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and habit was stronger where consumption was considered more intrinsically rewarding. Findings highlight the potential relevance of intrinsic reward to habit. We suggest that intrinsic rewards from behaviour may not only facilitate habit via behaviour frequency, but also reinforce the relationship between behavioural repetition and habit strength. © 2013 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

  14. Application of Two Intervention Programs in Order to Optimize Motivation and to Improve Eating Habits in Adult and Elderly Women.

    PubMed

    Leyton, Marta; Batista, Marco; Lobato, Susana; Aspano, Mª Isabel; Jiménez, Ruth

    2017-10-01

    The objective of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of two intervention programs: a physical exercise program with strategies to support the three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness); and a physical exercise program with nutritional education in order to improve the lifestyles of adult and elderly women who practiced functional maintenance. The Self-Determination Theory was applied as the theoretical framework. A sample of 135 women aged between 40 and 88 years (59.66 ± 10.76) who enrolled in a 12-week functional maintenance program and attended 24 exercise classes took part in the study. A quasi-experimental study was performed where strategies to support the three basic psychological needs were applied to one group and strategies for the improvement of eating habits were applied to the other group. No strategy was applied to the control group. The main results showed an improvement in experimental groups I and II when compared to the control group regarding the variables of autonomy, competence, intrinsic regulation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, external regulation and eating habits, after the application of the intervention programs. The conclusion is that both intervention programs were successful with this project's participants and that it is crucial to promote such intervention programs in functional maintenance classes, as they foster healthy lifestyles among participants.

  15. An Analysis of the Reading Strategies Used by Deaf and Hearing Adults: Similarities and Differences in Phonological Processing and Metacognition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silvestri, Julia A.

    2016-01-01

    This study is a mixed methods analysis of reading processes and language experiences of deaf and hearing readers. The sample includes four groups each with fifteen adults--identified as: deaf/high-achieving readers, deaf/struggling/non-academic readers, hearing/high-achieving readers, and hearing/non-academic readers. The purpose of this study is…

  16. Comprehension of Health-related Written Materials by Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Chiung-ju; Kemper, Susan; Bovaird, James A.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined how Flesch Reading Ease and text cohesion affect older adults' comprehension of common health texts. All older adults benefited when high Flesh Reading Ease was combined with high cohesion. Older adults with small working memories had more difficulty understanding texts high in Flesch Reading Ease. Additionally, older adults with low verbal ability or older than 77 years of age had difficulty understanding texts high in text cohesion but low in Flesch Reading Ease. These results imply that writers must increase Flesch Reading Ease without disrupting text cohesion to ensure comprehension of health-related texts. PMID:19543546

  17. Reading Materials for the New Reading Public: A Policy Brief.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhola, H. S.

    This paper presents proposals for the design and institutionalization of a system for the production and distribution of reading materials for adults, especially in developing countries. Ideas about the problems of production and distribution are developed, along with ideas for use in designing, evaluating, choosing, and promoting policy and…

  18. Reading about over-the-counter medications.

    PubMed

    Nabors, Laura A; Lehmkuhl, Heather D; Parkins, Irina S; Drury, Anna M

    2004-01-01

    Many adolescents and young adults purchase and use over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and some may take these medications without reading about how to use them. Most do read package inserts and labels to learn about the medication, but studies examining what influences label reading for youth are needed. This study assessed factors related to label reading for young people, including demographic variables (gender, health status) and the types of information they were seeking about the medication. Eight hundred and seventy-six high school and college students participated, and most reported reading labels or package inserts to learn about medications. Participants experiencing pain were more likely to read labels, except for those experiencing headaches who reported being less likely to read labels. When reading labels, participants were interested in information about side effects, ingredients, dosage instructions, and symptoms treated by the medication. Future research should examine whether youth take medications as directed and what factors make labels and inserts easier to read and understand.

  19. Reading comprehension in Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Murray, Laura L; Rutledge, Stefanie

    2014-05-01

    Although individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) self-report reading problems and experience difficulties in cognitive-linguistic functions that support discourse-level reading, prior research has primarily focused on sentence-level processing and auditory comprehension. Accordingly, the authors investigated the presence and nature of reading comprehension in PD, hypothesizing that (a) individuals with PD would display impaired accuracy and/or speed on reading comprehension tests and (b) reading performances would be correlated with cognitive test results. Eleven adults with PD and 9 age- and education-matched control participants completed tests that evaluated reading comprehension; general language and cognitive abilities; and aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. The PD group obtained significantly lower scores on several, but not all, reading comprehension, language, and cognitive measures. Memory, language, and disease severity were significantly correlated with reading comprehension for the PD group. Individuals in the early stages of PD without dementia or broad cognitive deficits can display reading comprehension difficulties, particularly for high- versus basic-level reading tasks. These reading difficulties are most closely related to memory, high-level language, and PD symptom severity status. The findings warrant additional research to delineate further the types and nature of reading comprehension impairments experienced by individuals with PD.

  20. Understanding On-Screen Reading Behaviors in Academic Contexts: A Case Study of Five Graduate English-as-a-Second-Language Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chou, I-Chia

    2012-01-01

    Undoubtedly, new areas of functionality for electronic texts will come to the fore and create new reading habits and expectations for dealing and interacting with text as electronic texts become dominant in the academic world. These new forms of reading will gradually become as natural as the different activities readers now take for granted, such…

  1. Sizzling Summer Reading Programs for Young Adults: Second Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kan, Katharine L.

    2006-01-01

    Summer reading programs are a staple in libraries nationwide and provide a valuable service: keeping teens productive and occupied when they are no longer busy in school. Producing creative programs at the library can be challenging when faced with this easily distracted teen demographic; that's where "Sizzling Summer Reading Programs" steps in.…

  2. Reading Argumentative Texts: Comprehension and Evaluation Goals and Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diakidoy, Irene-Anna N.; Ioannou, Melina C.; Christodoulou, Stelios A.

    2017-01-01

    The study is situated at the interface between reading comprehension and critical thinking research. Its purpose was to examine the influence of reading goals and argument quality on the comprehension and critical evaluation of argumentative texts. Young adult readers read to comprehend or evaluate texts on two different controversial issues.…

  3. The effect of aging on the brain network for exception word reading.

    PubMed

    Provost, Jean-Sebastien; Brambati, Simona M; Chapleau, Marianne; Wilson, Maximiliano A

    2016-11-01

    Cognitive and computational models of reading aloud agree on the existence of two procedures for reading. Pseudowords (e.g., atendier) are correctly read through subword processes only while exception words (e.g., pint) are only correctly read via whole-words processes. Regular words can be correctly read by means of either way. Previous behavioral studies showed that older adults relied more on whole-word processing for reading. The aim of the present fMRI study was to verify whether this larger whole-word reliance for reading in older adults was reflected by changes in the pattern of brain activation. Both young and elderly participants read aloud pseudowords, exception and regular words in the scanner. Behavioral results reproduced those of previous studies showing that older adults made significantly less errors when reading exception words. Neuroimaging results showed significant activation of the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL), a key region implicated in whole-word reading for exception word reading in both young and elderly participants. Critically, ATL activation was also found for regular word reading in the elderly. No differences were observed in the pattern of activation between regular and pseudowords in the young. In conclusion, these results extend evidence on the critical role of the left ATL for exception word reading to elderly participants. Additionally, our study shows for the first time from a developmental point of view that the behavioral changes found in reading during normal aging also have a brain counterpart in the reading network changes that sustain exception and regular word reading in the elderly. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. The Changes in Students' Self-Concepts as Readers and Values Placed on Reading from Sixth Grade to Eleventh Grade

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swinehart, Alexis Fitzgerald

    2011-01-01

    This study extended the research of Aiken (2006), which originally examined the reading motivation, attitudes, and habits for a cohort of 6th grade readers from an affluent suburban community. The purpose of this research was to investigate if the students' self-concepts as readers and values of reading have changed from their 6th grade year…

  5. Engaged Reading as a Collaborative Transformative Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ivey, Gay; Johnston, Peter H.

    2015-01-01

    The context of this study is a voluntary modification in teaching focus by four eighth-grade teachers who shifted their instructional focus toward student engagement. They abandoned assigned readings in favor of student-selected, self-paced reading within a collection of high interest materials--primarily young adult fiction that students found…

  6. The Impact of Internet and Television Use on the Reading Habits and Practices of College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Reichard, Carla A.; Gardner, Anne

    2009-01-01

    How much time do college students spend reading for recreational and academic purposes? Do Internet and television use displace or interfere with reading time? In this study, we used an innovative time-diary survey method to explore whether the time students spend on the Internet or watching television displaces time that would be spent reading…

  7. For the Love of Reading: Engaging Students in a Lifelong Pursuit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willingham, Daniel T.

    2015-01-01

    This article asks American adults the question: How should teens spend their leisure time? The activity with the highest response, irrespective of race, education, and other demographic factors, was reading. Adults thought teens ought to spend about an hour and 15 minutes reading for pleasure each day. How much time do teens actually spend…

  8. Up or down? Reading direction influences vertical counting direction in the horizontal plane - a cross-cultural comparison.

    PubMed

    Göbel, Silke M

    2015-01-01

    Most adults and children in cultures where reading text progresses from left to right also count objects from the left to the right side of space. The reverse is found in cultures with a right-to-left reading direction. The current set of experiments investigated whether vertical counting in the horizontal plane is also influenced by reading direction. Participants were either from a left-to-right reading culture (UK) or from a mixed (left-to-right and top-to-bottom) reading culture (Hong Kong). In Experiment 1, native English-speaking children and adults and native Cantonese-speaking children and adults performed three object counting tasks. Objects were presented flat on a table in a horizontal, vertical, and square display. Independent of culture, the horizontal array was mostly counted from left to right. While the majority of English-speaking children counted the vertical display from bottom to top, the majority of the Cantonese-speaking children as well as both Cantonese- and English-speaking adults counted the vertical display from top to bottom. This pattern was replicated in the counting pattern for squares: all groups except the English-speaking children started counting with the top left coin. In Experiment 2, Cantonese-speaking adults counted a square array of objects after they read a text presented to them either in left-to-right or in top-to-bottom reading direction. Most Cantonese-speaking adults started counting the array by moving horizontally from left to right. However, significantly more Cantonese-speaking adults started counting with a top-to-bottom movement after reading the text presented in a top-to-bottom reading direction than in a left-to-right reading direction. Our results show clearly that vertical counting in the horizontal plane is influenced by longstanding as well as more recent experience of reading direction.

  9. Parallel versus Sequential Processing in Print and Braille Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veispak, Anneli; Boets, Bart; Ghesquiere, Pol

    2012-01-01

    In the current study we investigated word, pseudoword and story reading in Dutch speaking braille and print readers. To examine developmental patterns, these reading skills were assessed in both children and adults. The results reveal that braille readers read less accurately and fast than print readers. While item length has no impact on word…

  10. [Differences in dietary habits and food preferences of adults depending on the age].

    PubMed

    Adamska, Edyta; Ostrowska, Lucyna; Adamska, Ewelina; Maliszewska, Katarzyna; Citko, Anna; Waszczeniuk, Magdalena; Przystupa, Wojciech; Majewski, Radosław; Wasilewska, Anna; Milewski, Robert; Krytowski, Adam; Górska, Maria

    2012-01-01

    Changes in the structure and functioning of the body occur with age. Also nutrition is continually modified. Eating habits may affect favorably or unfavorably on the process of aging and the functioning of various tissues, organs and the whole body. The purpose of the study was to evaluate dietary habits and food preferences of patients in different age groups. In the studied groups also body mass index (BMI) and body fat content were analyzed. 237 people (133 women and 104 men, age 18-79 years) were examined. The participants completed questionnaires of the frequency of food consumption and food preferences. The height, weight, body mass index (BMI), the percentage of body fat (BIA) were also measured. For statistical analysis the assessment of correlation Spearman's rank order and nonparametric ANOVA rank Kruskal-Wallis were used. With age, the frequency of milk (p < 0,05) and cheese (p < 0,05) consumption decreased whereas consumption of cottage cheese increased (p < 0,05). Increased consumption of offal (p < 0,05), salt (p < 0,05) and coffee (p< 0, 05) was also noted. With age, the respondents preferred animal fats (p < 0.05) and vegetable fats (p < 0.05). The frequency of butter consumption decreased (p < 0.05) and consumption of vegetable fats increased (p < 0,05). The consumption of brown rice (p < 0,05), whole wheat pasta (p < 0,05) and cereals (p < 0,05) was reduced whereas the consumption of groats (p < 0,05) potatos (p < 0,05) and fruits (p < 0,05) increased. The decreased desire (p < 0,05) and frequency of nuts / almonds consumption (p < 0,05) were noted. With age, the BMI and percentage of body fat were increasing (p < 0,05, R = 0,39, p < 0,05, R = 0,31, respectively). Taste preferences and dietary habits vary depending on age and may be one of the elements affecting the increase in BMI, body fat content, bone mass loss and increased risk of metabolic disorders. The observed changes in dietary habits can contribute to the development of dyslipidemia

  11. Predicting fruit consumption: the role of habits, previous behavior and mediation effects

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background This study assessed the role of habits and previous behavior in predicting fruit consumption as well as their additional predictive contribution besides socio-demographic and motivational factors. In the literature, habits are proposed as a stable construct that needs to be controlled for in longitudinal analyses that predict behavior. The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence for the inclusion of either previous behavior or habits. Methods A random sample of 806 Dutch adults (>18 years) was invited by an online survey panel of a private research company to participate in an online study on fruit consumption. A longitudinal design (N = 574) was used with assessments at baseline and after one (T2) and two months (T3). Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to assess the differential value of habit and previous behavior in the prediction of fruit consumption. Results Eighty percent of habit strength could be explained by habit strength one month earlier, and 64% of fruit consumption could be explained by fruit consumption one month earlier. Regression analyses revealed that the model with motivational constructs explained 41% of the behavioral variance at T2 and 38% at T3. The addition of previous behavior and habit increased the explained variance up to 66% at T2 and to 59% at T3. Inclusion of these factors resulted in non-significant contributions of the motivational constructs. Furthermore, our findings showed that the effect of habit strength on future behavior was to a large extent mediated by previous behavior. Conclusions Both habit and previous behavior are important as predictors of future behavior, and as educational objectives for behavior change programs. Our results revealed less stability for the constructs over time than expected. Habit strength was to a large extent mediated by previous behavior and our results do not strongly suggest a need for the inclusion of both constructs. Future research needs to assess

  12. Differential Cognitive and Perceptual Correlates of Print Reading versus Braille Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veispak, Anneli; Boets, Bart; Ghesquiere, Pol

    2013-01-01

    The relations between reading, auditory, speech, phonological and tactile spatial processing are investigated in a Dutch speaking sample of blind braille readers as compared to sighted print readers. Performance is assessed in blind and sighted children and adults. Regarding phonological ability, braille readers perform equally well compared to…

  13. Differential cognitive and perceptual correlates of print reading versus braille reading.

    PubMed

    Veispak, Anneli; Boets, Bart; Ghesquière, Pol

    2013-01-01

    The relations between reading, auditory, speech, phonological and tactile spatial processing are investigated in a Dutch speaking sample of blind braille readers as compared to sighted print readers. Performance is assessed in blind and sighted children and adults. Regarding phonological ability, braille readers perform equally well compared to print readers on phonological awareness, better on verbal short-term memory and significantly worse on lexical retrieval. The groups do not differ on speech perception or auditory processing. Braille readers, however, have more sensitive fingers than print readers. Investigation of the relations between these cognitive and perceptual skills and reading performance indicates that in the group of braille readers auditory temporal processing has a longer lasting and stronger impact not only on phonological abilities, which have to satisfy the high processing demands of the strictly serial language input, but also directly on the reading ability itself. Print readers switch between grapho-phonological and lexical reading modes depending on the familiarity of the items. Furthermore, the auditory temporal processing and speech perception, which were substantially interrelated with phonological processing, had no direct associations with print reading measures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Association Between Geographic Elevation, Bone Status, and Exercise Habits: The Shimane CoHRE Study.

    PubMed

    Takeda, Miwako; Hamano, Tsuyoshi; Kohno, Kunie; Yano, Shozo; Shiwaku, Kuninori; Nabika, Toru

    2015-06-30

    In recent years, there has been growing interest in the association between the residential environment and health. The association between residential environment (i.e., geographic elevation) and bone status is unknown. Furthermore, these associations could differ by exercise habits due to the chronically greater daily activity caused by steep slopes in mountainous areas. The aim of this study was to test whether the association between bone status of elderly people measured using quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and elevation varied according to the exercise habits in a mountainous area population. Data were collected from a cross-sectional study conducted during 2012-2013. QUS value was expressed as a proportion of the young adult mean (%YAM), with higher scores donating better bone status. After excluding subjects with missing data, we analyzed the data for 321 men and 500 women. Our results indicate that %YAM was not associated with elevation among men, or among women with exercise habits. However, elevation was associated with %YAM among women without exercise habits. Our results highlight the importance of considering residential environment and exercise habits when establishing promotion strategies to maintain bone status of the elderly people who live in rural mountainous areas.

  15. Increasing Teacher Mathematical Talk during Shared Book Reading in the Preschool Classroom: A Pilot Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hojnoski, Robin; Polignano, Joy; Columba, Helen Lynn

    2016-01-01

    Research Findings: Shared book reading provides opportunities for adults to engage in literacy-related interactions with children in meaningful ways. Research has examined various dimensions of adult and child behavior during shared book-reading interactions with some focus on how book type affects the reading experience. Little research, however,…

  16. Differences and effects of medium and large adult cuffs on blood pressure readings in individuals with muscular arms.

    PubMed

    Fonseca-Reyes, Salvador; Fajardo-Flores, Ismael; Montes-Casillas, Mayra; Forsyth-Macquarrie, Avril

    2009-08-01

    This study analyzed systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) reading differences in individuals with muscular arms, using medium and large adult cuffs. Resting blood pressures (BPs) were measured in bodybuilders competing at the Mexican National Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship. The means of two bilateral simultaneous arm BP measurements were obtained using two different cuff sizes, 12 cm (medium adult) and 16 cm (large adult). A total of 193 bodybuilders completed the measurements. With an arm circumference greater than 33 cm, the SBP and DBP average taken with the medium adult cuff was higher than that obtained with the large adult cuff, 8.2+/-10.6 and 1.6+/-7.4 mmHg, respectively; however, a significant difference was observed only with the SBP. With the medium adult cuff, 48 of 144 individuals showed SBP at least 140 mmHg, whereas with the large adult cuff there were only 17 of 144 individuals. In those participants with an arm circumference less than 33 cm, the BP was nonsignificantly lower with the large cuff, -4.24+/-9.2 and -2.24+/-5.4 mmHg for the SBP and DBP, respectively. Incorrect cuffing of a muscular arm leads to significant errors in the measurement of SBP and DBP, similar to that observed in miscuffing of nonmuscular arms.

  17. The Role of the Reading Teacher in Adult Basic Education - TESL.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Harvey M.

    In teaching reading in English as a second language, teachers must diagnose student difficulties and individualize instruction. They must analyze why students are in the course, determine what their individual reading backgrounds are in their native language and in English, and adapt class activities and reading materials to students' expectations…

  18. The Perceived Impact of E-Books on Student Reading Practices: A Local Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gilbert, Julie; Fister, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the perceived impact of future e-book collections on student research and recreational reading habits at our institution through three questions: how students currently use library print collections, how students use e-books, and how these factors impact student perception of the effects of future library e-books on their…

  19. Encouraging Students to Read: What Professors are (and Aren't) Doing about It

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Starcher, Keith; Proffitt, Dennis

    2011-01-01

    Reasons are examined as to why students are reluctant to complete assigned textbook readings on a timely basis. Prior research suggested that lack of student motivation, lack of student knowledge of effective study habits, competing demands on student time, and lack of congruency between student objectives for the course and professor objectives…

  20. The dorsolateral striatum selectively mediates extinction of habit memory.

    PubMed

    Goodman, Jarid; Ressler, Reed L; Packard, Mark G

    2016-12-01

    Previous research has indicated a role for the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) in acquisition and retrieval of habit memory. However, the neurobiological mechanisms guiding extinction of habit memory have not been extensively investigated. The present study examined whether the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) is involved in extinction of habit memory in a food-rewarded response learning version of the plus-maze in adult male Long-Evans rats (experiment 1). In addition, to determine whether the role of this brain region in extinction is selective to habit memory, we also examined whether the DLS is required for extinction of hippocampus-dependent spatial memory in a place learning version of the plus-maze (experiment 2). Following acquisition in either task, rats received two days of extinction training, in which the food reward was removed from the maze. The number of perseverative trials (a trial in which the rat made the same previously reinforced body-turn) and latency to reach the previously correct food well were used as measures of extinction. Animals were given immediate post-training intra-DLS administration of the sodium channel blocker bupivacaine or vehicle to determine the effect of DLS inactivation on consolidation of extinction memory in each task. In the response learning task, post-training DLS inactivation impaired consolidation of extinction memory. Injections of bupivacaine delayed 2 h post-training did not affect extinction, indicating a time-dependent effect of neural inactivation on consolidation of extinction memory in this task. In contrast, post-training DLS inactivation did not impair, but instead slightly enhanced, extinction memory in the place learning task. The present findings indicate a critical role for the DLS in extinction of habit memory in the response learning task, and may be relevant to understanding the neural mechanisms through which maladaptive habits in human psychopathologies (e.g. drug addiction) may be suppressed. Copyright