Training of poor readers' phonological decoding skills: Evidence for syllable-bound processing

A flash card computer program designed to increase decoding speed in reading was evaluated with a sample of 55 eight- to twelve-year-old Dutch poor readers by using a pretest-training-posttest control group design. The reading level of the poor readers was comparable to the reading level of normal readers in grade two. After 8 weeks of practicing (twice a week) for 30 minutes per session, children in the training group showed substantial improvements in decoding speed not only on pseudowords directly practiced during the training, but also in untrained pseudowords and in existing words. The no-training control group did not improve in decoding speed from pre- to posttest. The results, furthermore, indicate that syllable-bound processes play a role in phonological decoding in Dutch, and that the flash card method used in this study stimulates poor readers to decode letter strings into syllabic units, which leads to an increase in decoding speed. The role of the syllable in phonological decoding and the potential of a specific flash card technique as a means to improve decoding skills of poor readers are discussed.     

Development of Automated Scoring Algorithms for Complex Performance Assessments: A Comparison of Two Approaches

Performance assessments are typically scored by having experts rate individual performances. The cost associated with using expert raters may represent a serious limitation in many large-scale testing programs. The use of raters may also introduce an additional source of error into the assessment. These limitations have motivated development of automated scoring systems for performance assessments. Preliminary research has shown these systems to have application across a variety of tasks ranging from simple mathematics to architectural problem solving. This study extends research on automated scoring by comparing alternative automated systems for scoring a computer simulation test of physicians'patient management skills; one system uses regression-derived weights for components of the performance, the other uses complex rules to map performances into score levels. The procedures are evaluated by comparing the resulting scores to expert ratings of the same performances.     

Feedback factorizing control of 3-D transfer functions via a canonical state-space model

The problem factorizing (separating) the transfer function of a given SISO 3-D discrete system, ie of a system depending on three independent variables, is considered. The 3-D system is assumed to be available in its transfer function representation, which is converted to a canonical state-space model by a simple inspection procedure. Then applying state-feedback to this canonical model we choose the feedback matrix gain (under certain conditions) such that the transfer function of the closed-loop system has the desireed factorized form, ie a product of three 1-D transfer functions each one being dependent on a single variable. The method is illustrated by a nontrivial numerical example.     

Some aspects of science education in Britain: a comparative study

This article gives a broad picture of science education in Britain, starting with school pupils of about 11 years of age and concluding at the Ph.D. level. In the main it considers the education system from the point of view of students preparing for professional scientific work in basic and applied research as well as those who will leave the system at first degree level for a variety of occupations, ranging from school teaching to development and marketing posts in industry. The article is not directly concerned with the education and training of engineers and technologists. The British system is compared briefly with the educational patterns of several western European countries and the USA.     

Walsh Operational Matrices for Fractional Calculus and Their Application to Distributed Systems

The Walsh operational matrix for performing integration and solving state equations is generalized to fractional calculus for investigating distributed systems. A new set of orthogonal functions is derived from Walsh functions. By using the new functions, the generalized Walsh operational matrices corresponding to √s, √(s²+ 1), e^-s and e^-√s etc. are established. Several distributed parameter problems are solved by the new approach.