Automatic spelling correction using a trigram similarity measure

A nearest neighbour search procedure is described for the automatic correction of misspellings. The procedure involves the replacement of a misspelt word by that word in a dictionary which best matches the misspelling, the degree of match being calculated using a similarity coefficient based on the number of trigrams common to the two words. Experiments with a collection of 1544 misspellings and a dictionary of 64,636 words suggest that the procedure results in the unique identification of the correct spelling for over 75% of the misspellings if the correct form of the word is in the dictionary, and that this figure may be increased to over 90% if near, rather than nearest, neighbours are acceptable.     

The cross-cultural transfer of educational technology: A myth

This paper argues that technologies can never be transferred from one culture to another. The implementation by Costa Rica of the Open University system of technologies developed in England is used as a case in point. The paper focuses on the non-applicability of using the term “transfer” with its attendant connotations, to signify the implementation of similar technologies in different cultures; differentiates between system specific and culture specific problems in the process of this implementation: and discusses the interaction of three cultures in the process of “transferring” a system of technologies from one of these cultures to another. The Open University system of technologies is described as it exists in England and the system specific problems of these technologies are delimited. The system of technologies is then “transferred” to Costa Rica and the culture specific problems discussed as seen by two evaluators from yet a third culture (the United States). The expectations of individuals from all three cultures (English, Costa Rican and U.S.) are raised in tight of these culture specific problems.