Phonemic—Morphemic dissociation in university students with dyslexia: an index of reading compensation?

A phonological deficit constitutes a primary cause of developmental dyslexia, which persists into adulthood and can explain some aspects of their reading impairment. Nevertheless, some dyslexic adults successfully manage to study at university level, although very little is currently known about how they achieve this. The present study investigated at both the individual and group levels, whether the development of another oral language skill, namely, morphological knowledge, can be preserved and dissociated from the development of phonological knowledge. Reading, phonological, and morphological abilities were measured in 20 dyslexic and 20 non-dyslexic university students. The results confirmed the persistence of deficits in phonological but not morphological abilities, thereby revealing a dissociation in the development of these two skills. Moreover, the magnitude of the dissociation correlated with reading level. The outcome supports the claim that university students with dyslexia may compensate for phonological weaknesses by drawing on morphological knowledge in reading.     

A Place for Kids? The Public Image of Natural History Museums

Scholars, commentaries, guide books, and people “on the street” seem to agree and take for granted that natural history museums are mainly aimed at children. Nevertheless, no studies have specifically investigated the public image of natural history museums. In this study, we provide quantitative evidence that natural history museums are indeed seen by the public as being primarily aimed at children and families with children, and we discuss the consequences that this fact has for the potential role that natural history museums could have in promoting science literacy and for the perception of science in general.     

The Impact of Copyright on the Enjoyment of Right to Science and Culture

This paper started life in September 2014 as a submission by the International Publishers Association (IPA) to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is the IPA’s view that human rights and intellectual property rights are not only compatible, but also mutually supportive and interdependent. Copyright in particular, is a success story. It has proven to be a powerful tool to strengthen science and culture, improve participation in them, and provide a legal framework that confers such rights and enables policies to promote them. This is particularly true in the online environment, where copyright laws enable science and culture to prosper, and are giving scientists, creators and publishers new economic ways of exercising their profession, creating the diversity of content and services that a rapidly growing majority of the world’s population is able to participate in. Copyright creates a marketplace that empowers citizens, and reduces the need for government interference with culture and science, a welcome state of affairs, in particular from the human rights perspective.     

Distance Learning: Relationships among Class Size,Instructor Location,Student Perceptions,and Performance

This study investigated differences in student perceptions and performance among three distance learning sites taking the same off-campus M.B.A. course with the same instructor, The sites varied in class size and instructor location. Two classes (one large and one small) were linked using a two-way video system with rotating origination. The third class was small and was taught in person each week. Data were collected over an entire semester. Class size influenced performance more than location of instructor. Performance in the two smaller classes was better than performance in the large class. Student characteristics and site variables accounted for over 50% of variance in performance. One interaction effect was found. Students with initial low perceived value did best when the instructor was physically present each week. For students with high initial perceived value, location of instructor did not matter.