Exploring the syntactic skills of struggling adult readers

This study investigated the syntactic ability of 82 struggling adult readers who recognize words between the third and fifth grade levels. Analysis of the adults?? performance on the TOLD-I:3 indicated that they were deficient on the syntactic task. Correlations found the struggling adult readers?? oral language skills, written language skills, and reading comprehension skills to be related. A regression analyses indicated that the adults?? syntactic knowledge did not individually predict reading comprehension, however their other oral language skills did. The findings of this study suggest that the adults performed similar to children who are either learning to read or considered poor readers. This study also contributes to the adult literacy field by providing exploratory information on an area (syntax and struggling adult readers) that is lacking.     

Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in deaf native signers

Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in the deaf population were investigated by comparing performance of deaf native signers (n=20) to that of hearing nonsigners (n=20) on the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Wechsler Memory Scale Visual Reproduction subtest, and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Paper Folding and Cutting subtest. Deaf signers were found to perform similarly to hearing controls, suggesting that these tests are valid assessment instruments to use with deaf individuals.     

Collaborative close reading of teaching texts: one way of helping academics to make sense of their practice

In this paper, I draw attention to a lively and accessible way of helping academics to make sense of their practice as teachers. First, I define ‘collaborative close reading’ and ‘teaching texts’. Then I invite the reader to eavesdrop on three (lightly fictionalised) reading sessions. Finally, I suggest some guidelines for facilitators.     

Characteristics of personal health records: findings of the Medical Library Association/National Library of Medicine Joint Electronic Personal Health Record Task Force

Objectives:

The Medical Library Association (MLA)/National Library of Medicine (NLM) Joint Electronic Personal Health Record Task Force examined the current state of personal health records (PHRs).

Methods:

A working definition of PHRs was formulated, and a database was built with fields for specified PHR characteristics. PHRs were identified and listed. Each task force member was assigned a portion of the list for data gathering. Findings were recorded in the database.

Results:

Of the 117 PHRs identified, 91 were viable. Almost half were standalone products. A number used national standards for nomenclature and/or record structure. Less than half were mobile device enabled. Some were publicly available, and others were offered only to enrollees of particular health plans or employees at particular institutions. A few were targeted to special health conditions.

Conclusions:

The PHR field is very dynamic. While most PHR products have some common elements, their features can vary. PHRs can link their users with librarians and information resources. MLA and NLM have taken an active role in making this connection and in encouraging librarians to assume this assistance role with PHRs.

Highlights

• A variety of personal health records (PHRs) exist with some tied to medical health records and others offered as standalone products.
• Librarians can be connected to PHR users through inclusion of an assistance statement in PHRs.
• PHRs offer librarians another means of providing consumers with quality health information.

Implications

• PHR user support is a new role for medical librarians.
• Medical librarians need to be proactive in their communities to educate consumers about PHRs.
• Given the dynamic nature of this market, medical librarians should make a concerted effort to stay abreast of trends in this area.

     

Controlling fruit-shedding in the oil palm

The oil palm is a major factor in the economy of much of South East Asia and maximising the harvest is of major consequence. One important source of loss is the shedding of ripe fruit from the bunches before they reach the factories. Study of the course of abscission reveals unusual processes in the oil palm — and in a few other plantation crops such as dates and coconuts — which suggest practical means of achieving better harvesting regimes and regulation of fruit shedding.     

Women Working in Higher Education: A Review of the Position of Women in Higher Education and Policy Developments

This review is concerned with the position of women in higher education, and particularly that of women staff at all levels. A set of statistics is presented to illustrate the UK scene. Similar infmnation is given for some other countries. There is an emphasis on comparison with Australia because the situation there is changing. The position of women academics is clearly revealed – there are not many, they have more difficulty than men in obtaining tenured positions and much more difficulty in obtaining promotion. Some of the causes and consequences of this situation are discussed.
The development of policy needed to bring about change is examined with emphasis on the institutional attitudinal climate.     

Measuring adult literacy students’ reading skills using the Gray Oral Reading Test

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.     

An analysis of differential response patterns on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB in struggling adult readers and third-grade children

This study examines the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB (PPVT-IIIB) performance of 130 adults identified as struggling readers, in comparison to 175 third-grade children. Response patterns to the items on the PPVT-IIIB by these two groups were investigated, focusing on items, semantic categories, and lexical features, including word length, word class, and word frequency. The score distributional properties of the two groups were different, but there were similarities and differences found in different response patterns. Analyses of word length, word class, and word frequency in the two groups?? performance resulted in counterintuitive findings for the adult participants. The struggling adult learners?? vocabulary repertoire might have been shaped by their real-life experiences rather than formal schooling. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Characterizing the motives and environmental literacy of undergraduate and graduate students who elect environmental programs – a comparison between teaching-oriented and other students

One aspect of the increasing position of sustainability in higher education is establishment of distinct interdisciplinary environment-oriented programs. The point-of-departure of this study is differentiation between teaching- and non-teaching-oriented students, in view of their different respective professional roles in society. The motives and environmental literacy (EL) of incoming students were investigated in three types of sustainability programs in Israel: undergraduate teacher-training, graduate teacher-education and graduate non-teacher programs. For all students acquiring knowledge was the major motive for studies. Undergraduate student-teachers demonstrated the least developed EL, although it is slightly higher than that found for incoming student-teachers a decade ago. Graduate teacher-students displayed strong identity as educational agents-of-change and role-models; however, their limited environmental-knowledge raises questions concerning providing knowledge foundations in undergraduate teacher-training programs, indicating the necessity to supplement this in graduate teacher-programs. Graduate non-teacher students perceive their continuing sustainability-oriented studies as a means for developing an environmental career and enter these programs relatively environmentally-literate. The implications focus on necessary components and characteristics of sustainability-programs directed to teaching- and non-teaching-oriented students. These include the necessity to strengthen the environmental-knowledge component in programs directed to teachers; and embed opportunities for professional internships within graduate programs for non-teachers seeking environmental careers.