Spelling in adults: The combined influences of language skills and reading experience

One hundred and twelve university students completed 7 tests assessing word-reading accuracy, print exposure, phonological sensitivity, phonological coding and knowledge of English morphology as predictors of spelling accuracy. Together the tests accounted for 71% of the variance in spelling, with phonological skills and morphological knowledge emerging as strong predictors of spelling accuracy for words with both regular and irregular sound-spelling correspondences. The pattern of relationships was consistent with a model in which, as a function of the learning opportunities that are provided by reading experience, phonological skills promote the learning of individual word orthographies and structural relationships among words.

Item and task difficulty in a B2 reading examination: perceptions of test-takers and CEFR alignment experts compared with psychometric measurements

The article presents a study of a CEFR B2-level reading subtest that is part of the Slovenian national secondary school leaving examination in English as a foreign language, and compares the test-taker actual performance (objective difficulty) with the test-taker and expert perceptions of item difficulty (subjective difficulty). The study also analyses the test-takers’ comments on item difficulty obtained from a while-reading questionnaire. The results are discussed in the framework of the existing research in the fields of (the assessment of) reading comprehension, and are addressed with regard to their implications for item-writing, FL teaching and curriculum development.

Encounters and content sharing in an urban village : reading texts through an archaeological lens

Archaeology provides a framework of analysis and interpretation that is useful for disentangling the textual layers of a contemporary lived-in urban space. The producers and readers of texts may include those who planned and developed the site and those who now live, visit and work there. Some of the social encounters and content sharing between these people may be artificially produced or manufactured in the hope that certain social situations will occur. Others may be serendipitous. With archaeology’s original focus on places that are no longer inhabited it is often only the remaining artefacts and features of the built environment that form the basis for interpreting the social relationships of past people. Our analysis however, is framed within a contemporary notion of archaeological artefacts in an urban setting. Unlike an excavation, where the past is revealed through digging into the landscape, the application of landscape archaeology within a present day urban context is necessarily more experiential, visual and based on recording and analysing the physical traces of social encounters and relationships between residents and visitors. These physical traces are present within the creative content, and the built and natural elements of the environment. This chapter explores notions of social encounters and content sharing in an urban village by analysing three different types of texts: the design of the built environment; content produced by residents through a geospatial web application; and, print and online media produced in digital storytelling workshops.

Floating on a sea of talk: Reading comprehension through speaking and listening

Talk is the foundation for thought and understanding, and the key to literacy learning. Research demonstrates that powerful meta-cognitive strategies can be taught to help students self-monitor their comprehension when reading print and digital texts. This paper provides a repertoire of motivating speaking and listening tips to develop the meta-cognitive thinking of students in the elementary years.

Which way up? Reading and drawing maps of the blogosphere

Mapping the physical world, the arrangement of continents and oceans, cities and villages, mountains and deserts, while not without its own contentious aspects, can at least draw upon centuries of previous work in cartography and discovery. To map virtual spaces is another challenge altogether. Are cartographic conventions applicable to depictions of the blogosphere, or the internet in general? Is a more mathematical approach required to even start to make sense of the shape of the blogosphere, to understand the network created by and between blogs? With my research comparing information flows in the Australian and French political blogs, visualising the data obtained is important as it can demonstrate the spread of ideas and topics across blogs. However, how best to depict the flows, links, and the spaces between is still unclear. Is network theory and systems of hubs and nodes more relevant than mass communication theories to the research at hand, influencing the nature of any map produced? Is it even a good idea to try and apply boundaries like ‘Australian’ and ‘French’ to parts of a map that does not reflect international borders or the Mercator projection? While drawing upon some of my work-in-progress, this paper will also evaluate previous maps of the blogosphere and approaches to depicting networks of blogs. As such, the paper will provide a greater awareness of the tools available and the strengths and limitations of mapping methodologies, helping to shape the direction of my research in a field still very much under development.

Reading and writing PE-files with PERWAPI

PERWAPI is a component for reading and writing .NET PE-files. The name is a compound acronym for Program Executable – Reader/Writer – Application Programming Interface. The code was written by one of us (Diane Corney) with some contributions from some of the early users of the tool. PERWAPI is a managed component, written entirely in safe C#. The design of the writer part of the component is loosely based on Diane Corney’s previous PEAPI component. It is open source software, and is released under a “FreeBSD-like” license. The source may be downloaded from “http://plas.fit.qut.edu.au/perwapi/” As of the date of this document the code has facilities for reading and writing PEfiles compatible with the latest (beta-2) release of the ”Whidbey” version of .NET, that is, the Visual Studio 2005 framework. An invocation option allows earlier versions of the framework to be targeted.

Reading and writing PE-files with PERWAPI

PERWAPI is a component for reading and writing .NET PE-files. The name is a compound acronym for Program Executable – Reader/Writer – Application Programming Interface. The code was written by one of us (Diane Corney) with some contributions from some of the early users of the tool. PERWAPI is a managed component, written entirely in safe C#. The design of the writer part of the component is loosely based on Diane Corney’s previous PEAPI component. It is open source software, and is released under a “FreeBSD-like” license. The source may be downloaded from “http://perwapi.codeplex.com”. As of the date of this document the code has facilities for reading and writing PEfiles compatible with the V2 or later frameworks.

The effect of prolonged reading on visual functions and reading performance in students with low vision

This study is the first to investigate the effect of prolonged reading on reading performance and visual functions in students with low vision. The study focuses on one of the most common modes of achieving adequate magnification for reading by students with low vision, their close reading distance (proximal or relative distance magnification). Close reading distances impose high demands on near visual functions, such as accommodation and convergence. Previous research on accommodation in children with low vision shows that their accommodative responses are reduced compared to normal vision. In addition, there is an increased lag of accommodation for higher stimulus levels as may occur at close reading distance. Reduced accommodative responses in low vision and higher lag of accommodation at close reading distances together could impact on reading performance of students with low vision especially during prolonged reading tasks. The presence of convergence anomalies could further affect reading performance. Therefore, the aims of the present study were 1) To investigate the effect of prolonged reading on reading performance in students with low vision 2) To investigate the effect of prolonged reading on visual functions in students with low vision. This study was conducted as cross-sectional research on 42 students with low vision and a comparison group of 20 students with normal vision, aged 7 to 20 years. The students with low vision had vision impairments arising from a range of causes and represented a typical group of students with low vision, with no significant developmental delays, attending school in Brisbane, Australia. All participants underwent a battery of clinical tests before and after a prolonged reading task. An initial reading-specific history and pre-task measurements that included Bailey-Lovie distance and near visual acuities, Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity, ocular deviations, sensory fusion, ocular motility, near point of accommodation (pull-away method), accuracy of accommodation (Monocular Estimation Method (MEM)) retinoscopy and Near Point of Convergence (NPC) (push-up method) were recorded for all participants. Reading performance measures were Maximum Oral Reading Rates (MORR), Near Text Visual Acuity (NTVA) and acuity reserves using Bailey-Lovie text charts. Symptoms of visual fatigue were assessed using the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) for all participants. Pre-task measurements of reading performance and accuracy of accommodation and NPC were compared with post-task measurements, to test for any effects of prolonged reading. The prolonged reading task involved reading a storybook silently for at least 30 minutes. The task was controlled for print size, contrast, difficulty level and content of the reading material. Silent Reading Rate (SRR) was recorded every 2 minutes during prolonged reading. Symptom scores and visual fatigue scores were also obtained for all participants. A visual fatigue analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess visual fatigue during the task, once at the beginning, once at the middle and once at the end of the task. In addition to the subjective assessments of visual fatigue, tonic accommodation was monitored using a photorefractor (PlusoptiX CR03™) every 6 minutes during the task, as an objective assessment of visual fatigue. Reading measures were done at the habitual reading distance of students with low vision and at 25 cms for students with normal vision. The initial history showed that the students with low vision read for significantly shorter periods at home compared to the students with normal vision. The working distances of participants with low vision ranged from 3-25 cms and half of them were not using any optical devices for magnification. Nearly half of the participants with low vision were able to resolve 8-point print (1M) at 25 cms. Half of the participants in the low vision group had ocular deviations and suppression at near. Reading rates were significantly reduced in students with low vision compared to those of students with normal vision. In addition, there were a significantly larger number of participants in the low vision group who could not sustain the 30-minute task compared to the normal vision group. However, there were no significant changes in reading rates during or following prolonged reading in either the low vision or normal vision groups. Individual changes in reading rates were independent of their baseline reading rates, indicating that the changes in reading rates during prolonged reading cannot be predicted from a typical clinical assessment of reading using brief reading tasks. Contrary to previous reports the silent reading rates of the students with low vision were significantly lower than their oral reading rates, although oral and silent reading was assessed using different methods. Although the visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, near point of convergence and accuracy of accommodation were significantly poorer for the low vision group compared to those of the normal vision group, there were no significant changes in any of these visual functions following prolonged reading in either group. Interestingly, a few students with low vision (n =10) were found to be reading at a distance closer than their near point of accommodation. This suggests a decreased sensitivity to blur. Further evaluation revealed that the equivalent intrinsic refractive errors (an estimate of the spherical dioptirc defocus which would be expected to yield a patient’s visual acuity in normal subjects) were significantly larger for the low vision group compared to those of the normal vision group. As expected, accommodative responses were significantly reduced for the low vision group compared to the expected norms, which is consistent with their close reading distances, reduced visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. For those in the low vision group who had an accommodative error exceeding their equivalent intrinsic refractive errors, a significant decrease in MORR was found following prolonged reading. The silent reading rates however were not significantly affected by accommodative errors in the present study. Suppression also had a significant impact on the changes in reading rates during prolonged reading. The participants who did not have suppression at near showed significant decreases in silent reading rates during and following prolonged reading. This impact of binocular vision at near on prolonged reading was possibly due to the high demands on convergence. The significant predictors of MORR in the low vision group were age, NTVA, reading interest and reading comprehension, accounting for 61.7% of the variances in MORR. SRR was not significantly influenced by any factors, except for the duration of the reading task sustained; participants with higher reading rates were able to sustain a longer reading duration. In students with normal vision, age was the only predictor of MORR. Participants with low vision also reported significantly greater visual fatigue compared to the normal vision group. Measures of tonic accommodation however were little influenced by visual fatigue in the present study. Visual fatigue analogue scores were found to be significantly associated with reading rates in students with low vision and normal vision. However, the patterns of association between visual fatigue and reading rates were different for SRR and MORR. The participants with low vision with higher symptom scores had lower SRRs and participants with higher visual fatigue had lower MORRs. As hypothesized, visual functions such as accuracy of accommodation and convergence did have an impact on prolonged reading in students with low vision, for students whose accommodative errors were greater than their equivalent intrinsic refractive errors, and for those who did not suppress one eye. Those students with low vision who have accommodative errors higher than their equivalent intrinsic refractive errors might significantly benefit from reading glasses. Similarly, considering prisms or occlusion for those without suppression might reduce the convergence demands in these students while using their close reading distances. The impact of these prescriptions on reading rates, reading interest and visual fatigue is an area of promising future research. Most importantly, it is evident from the present study that a combination of factors such as accommodative errors, near point of convergence and suppression should be considered when prescribing reading devices for students with low vision. Considering these factors would also assist rehabilitation specialists in identifying those students who are likely to experience difficulty in prolonged reading, which is otherwise not reflected during typical clinical reading assessments.

How to tell the difference between a positive image and a stereotype: reading Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

This paper intervenes in critical discussions about the representation of homosexuality. Rejecting the ‘manifest content’ of films, it turns to cultural history to map those public discourses which close down the ways in which films can be discussed. With relation to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, it examines discussions of the film in Australian newspapers (both queer and mainstream) and finds that while there is disagreement about the interpretation to be made of the film, the terms within which those interpretations can be made are quite rigid. A matrix based on similarity, difference and value provides a series of positions and a vocabulary (transgression, assimilation, positive images and stereotypes) through which to make sense of this film. The article suggests that this matrix, and the idea that similarity and difference provide a suitable axis for making sense of homosexual identity, are problematic in discussing homosexual representation.

The cradle of whose civilisation? : reading the Theseus myth in Riordan’s Percy Jackson and Ottley’s Requiem for a Beast

This paper considers the functions of Greek mythology in general and the “Theseus and the Minotaur” myth in particular in two contemporary texts of adolescent masculinity: Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (2005-2009) and Matt Ottley’s Requiem for a Beast: A Work for Image, Word and Music (2007). These texts reveal the ongoing flexibility of mythic texts to be pressed into service of shoring up or challenging currently hegemonic ideologies of self and state. Both Riordan and Ottley make a variety of intertextual uses of classical hero plots in order to facilitate their own narrative explorations of contemporary adolescent men ‘coming of age’. These intertextual gestures might easily be read as gestures of alignment with narrative traditions and authority which simultaneously confer “legitimacy” on Riordan and Ottley, on their texts, and by extension, on their readers. However, when read in juxtaposition, it is clear that Riordan and Ottley may use classical mythology to articulate similarly gendered adolescence, they produce divergent visions of nationed adolescence.