Time course of elaborative inferences in reading as a function of prior vocabulary knowledge

Elaborative inferences during reading were assessed by means of a naming task and eye-fixation monitoring in low- and high-vocabulary undergraduates. A context sentence was followed by a target word to be named or read. Evidence for inferences involved facilitation in naming latencies or reading times for the target word when this was predictable by the context. The results indicated that high-vocabulary readers were faster and more likely to make inferences on-line than low-vocabulary readers. Those low in vocabulary, generated inferences only after 1050 ms of the end of the inducing context sentence, whereas those high in vocabulary made inferences 500 ms earlier. Furthermore, when the stimuli involved reading of continuous text, rather than discrete naming of target words, only the high-vocabulary readers drew inferences, which suggests that low-vocabulary readers are unlikely to make inferences in natural reading conditions.     

Effects of Visual and Phonological Distinctness on Visual–verbal Paired Associate Learning in Dutch Dyslexic and Normal Readers

In three studies, the effects of visual and phonological distinctness on the visual–verbal paired associate learning of dyslexic and normal readers at the age of 10–12 were examined. We hypothesized that both groups would be equally affected by the visual distinctness of the pictures, whereas the learning performance of the dyslexic children would be more susceptible to the phonological distinctness of the verbal stimuli (words). As expected, in Study 1 we found that the visual distinctness of pictures had a similar effect on both groups. However, the results of Studies 2 and 3 on the effect of phonological distinctness did not support the hypothesis. Both reader groups were equally affected by the phonological distinctness of the words. In addition, we found that, although not consistently, dyslexic children tended to be worse in verbal learning, which could to a large extent be explained by their problems with phonological processing.     

The role of naming speed within a model of reading acquisition

That symbol naming speed is an importantcorrelate of reading skill has been generallyacknowledged. Just what contribution it makesand why is a much more difficult question. Wesuggest that the search for such answers isbest developed within a broad model of readingskill acquisition. We propose an informalmodel and review evidence for several of itslinks. The major lines of influence arehypothesized to flow from cognitive abilities(mediated by instructional factors) tointermediate and final reading outcomes. Theoutcomes at each level, however, are affectedby outcomes at other levels, and in other wayscombine to complicate the picture. Use of sucha model may focus our research questions morefinely and lead to a more preciseconceptualization of the basis for naming speed– reading relationships.     

Word frequency effects in naming for experienced and previously experienced adult readers of Persian

In a word naming experiment, experienced readers of Persian named high frequency transparent Persian words significantly faster than matched low frequency words. There was no such frequency effect for adults who had, during the past decade or more, very little experience in reading materials in Persian due to immigration to the West. Overall, the previously experienced adults named words significantly slower than their experienced counterparts. The implications of this finding in relation to models of visual word recognition are discussed.     

Letter Processing and the Formation of Memory Representations in Children with Naming Speed Deficits

The ability to recognize letter patterns within words as a single unit is important for fluent reading. This skill is based on previously established memory representations of common letter patterns. The ability to form these memory representations may be impaired in some poor readers, particularly readers with naming speed deficits (NSD). This study explored factors that influence letter processing and the subsequent formation of memory representations of letter strings in children with and without a NSD. Children were presented with a letter string, followed by a probe unit that was either a single letter, a two-letter cluster, or a repetition of the whole string. Children indicated whether or not the probe had been present in the preceding string. Two factors were manipulated: (a) amount of time to process the initial letter string, and (b) level of orthographic structure present in the letter string. Results indicated that overall, children with NSD performed less accurately than children without NSD. However, children with NSD showed no differential benefit in performance as a result of longer time to process a letter string. In addition, all readers were able to make use of the orthographic structure in a letter string to aid performance. Implications of results for establishing memory representations of letter strings are discussed.     

Theoretical links among naming speed,precise timing mechanisms and orthographic skill in dyslexia

In this paper, we review several lines of convergent research to discuss the relationship between developmental dyslexia and slow symbol naming speed. We describe the interactive development of orthographic and phonological codes, and we discuss the methodological problems that may have led to underestimating the importance of individual differences in orthographic processing in our account of reading disabilities. Symbol naming speed is typically subsumed under phonological processing, yet it contributes variance to reading, especially to reading fluency, independently of phonological awareness. We speculate that naming speed may reflect precise timing mechanisms necessary to the development of orthographic codes and to their integration with phonological codes. We argue that an understanding of this precise timing dimension is necessary to incorporate in our models of phonological, orthographic, and semantic processes in reading acquisition and reading failure.     

Semantic effects as a function of reading skill in word naming of a transparent orthography

The highly transparent Turkish orthography was employed to examine imageability in relation to level of skill in two experiments. In experiment 1, previously skilled readers (n = 24)named 40 high frequency and 40 low frequency words manipulatedfactorially with imageability. A significant main effect was onlyfound for frequency. In experiment 2, a total of 44 adult Turkishreaders (16 very skilled and 28 skilled) named the same stimulias in experiment 1. The results showed an expected main effectfor skill and frequency. However, whilst the main effect forimageability was nonsignificant, a 2-way interaction of skill byimageability and a 3-way interaction of skill by imageability byfrequency were found to be significant. Very skilled readersnamed high imageable low frequency words significantly fasterthan matched low imageable low frequency words. Insofar as poorreaders are concerned the results are contradictory to previousfindings in English whilst data from highly skilled participantsare in line with those reported for skilled readers for English.Implications of these findings on the existing literature arediscussed.     

“新世纪文学”的命名之惑

"新世纪文学"孕育于"文学终结"与"读者之死"的焦虑中。全球化与消费时代带来文学大环境改变,把文学创作与阅读都纳入商品过程,21世纪之初的文学较之以前有诸多异质性因素,为之命名在所难免。"新世纪文学"这一概念充满争议,它的存在是暂时性的,之后将有更适恰的概念取代它。     

基于Java的数据连接方法述评

在分析JDBC的体系结构基础上,重点论述了运用Java语言进行系统前端应用程序与后端数据库的连接方法,以及在JDBC设计中加载不同的驱动程序、创建数据库连接的策略.同时,还就扩展的数据访问方法JNDI进行了探讨.不同连接方法的研究表明,在基于网络的数据库应用系统的开发中,选择合适的连接方式可以为系统提供更可靠、更高效的数据访问,从而提高应用系统的稳定性和性能.     

设计模式在JNDI访问过程中的应用

JNDI是一组在Java应用中访问命名和目录服务的API,它具有统一的接口,可以大大提高开发目录服务客户端应用程序的效率。但是对于开发者而言,使用JNDI编写的代码依然涉及许多细节,缺少抽象性和可扩展性。该文以LDAP目录服务为例,依照面向对象的设计原则,利用两个设计模式对目录服务器的访问过程进行优化。桥接模式避免了客户端直接设置目录服务器具体连接方式的参数,并且可以很好地适应新连接方式的扩展;命令模式把行为以命令对象的形式进行封装,将客户类与具体的请求类进行解耦合,使得客户端可以在不知道操作细节的情况下,发送不同的请求,进一步简化了目录服务器的访问过程。