What is that place? Observations of the impact of environment colour through photographic analysis

Isolating the impact of a colour, or a combination of colours, is extremely difficult to achieve because it is difficult to remove other environmental elements such as sound, odours, light, and occasion from the experience of being in a place. In order to ascertain the impact of colour on how we interpret the world in day to day situations, the current study records participant responses to achromatic scenes of the built environment prior to viewing the same scene in colour. A number of environments were photographed in colour or copied from design books; and copies of the images saved as both colour and black/grey/white. An overview of the study will be introduced by firstly providing examples of studies which have linked colour to meaning and emotions. For example, yellow is said to be connected to happiness1 ; or red evokes feelings of anger2 or passion. A link between colour and the way we understand and/or feel is established however, there is a further need for knowledge of colour in context. In response to this need, the current achromatic/chromatic environmental study will be described and discussed in light of the findings. Finally, suggestions for future research are posed. Based on previous research the authors hypothesised that a shift in environmental perception by participants would occur. It was found that the impact of colour includes a shift in perception of aspects such as its atmosphere and youthfulness. Through studio-class discussions it was also noted that the predicted age of the place, the function, and in association, the potential users when colour was added (or deleted) were often challenged. It is posited that the ability of a designer (for example, interior designer, architect, or landscape architect) to design for a particular target group—user and/or clients will be enhanced through more targeted studies relating colour in situ. The importance of noting the perceptual shift for the participants in our study, who were young designers, is the realisation that colour potentially holds the power to impact on the identity of an architectural form, an interior space, and/or particular elements such as doorways, furniture settings, and the like.

Tests of the elaborated intrusion theory of craving and desire : features of alcohol craving during treatment for an alcohol disorder

Objectives. We tested predictions from the elaborated intrusion (EI) theory of desire, which distinguishes intrusive thoughts and elaborations, and emphasizes the importance of imagery. Secondarily, we undertook preliminary evaluations of the Alcohol Craving Experience (ACE) questionnaire, a new measure based on EI Theory. Methods. Participants (N ¼ 232) were in correspondence-based treatment trials for alcohol abuse or dependence. The study used retrospective reports obtained early in treatment using the ACE, and daily self-monitoring of urges, craving, mood and alcohol consumption. Results. The ACE displayed high internal consistency and test – retest reliability and sound relationships with self-monitored craving, and was related to Baseline alcohol dependence, but not to consumption. Imagery during craving was experienced by 81%,with 2.3 senses involved on average. More frequent imagery was associated with longer episode durations and stronger craving. Transient intrusive thoughts were reported by 87% of respondents, and were more common if they frequently attempted to stop alcohol cognitions. Associations between average daily craving and weekly consumption were seen. Depression and negative mood were associated with more frequent, stronger and longer lasting desires for alcohol. Conclusions. Results supported the distinction of automatic and controlled processes in craving, together with the importance of craving imagery. They were also consistent with prediction of consumption from cross-situational averages of craving, and with positive associations between craving and negative mood. However, this study’s retrospective reporting and correlational design require that its results be interpreted cautiously. Research using ecological momentary measures and laboratory manipulations is needed before confident inferences about causality can be made.

Speeding in Australia and China : a comparison of the influence of legal sanctions and enforcement practices on car drivers

Despite increasingly sophisticated speed management strategies, speeding remains a significant contributing factor in 25% of Australia’s fatal crashes. Excessive speed is also a recognised contributor to road trauma in rapidly motorising countries such as China, where increases in vehicle ownership and new drivers, and a high proportion of vulnerable road users all contribute to a high road trauma rate. Speed choice is a voluntary behaviour. Therefore, driver perceptions are important to our understanding of the nature of speeding. This paper reports preliminary qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (survey) investigations of the perceptions of drivers in Queensland and Beijing. Drivers’ definitions of speeding as well as their perceptions of the influence of legal factors on their reported speeds were explored. Survey participants were recruited from petrol stations (Queensland, n=833) and car washes (Beijing, n=299). Similarities were evident in justifications for exceeding speed limits across samples. Excessive speeds were not deemed as ‘speeding’ when drivers considered that they were safe and under their control, or when speed limits were seen as unreasonably low. This appears linked to perceptions of enforcement tolerances in some instances with higher perceived enforcement thresholds noted in China. Encouragingly, drivers in both countries reported a high perceived risk of apprehension if speeding. However, a substantial proportion of both samples also indicated perceptions of low certainty of receiving penalties when apprehended. Chinese drivers considered sanctions less severe than did Australian drivers. In addition, strategies to avoid detection and penalties were evident in both samples, with Chinese drivers reporting a broader range of avoidant techniques. Implications of the findings for future directions in speed management in both countries are discussed.

Cues to starting CPAP in obstructive sleep apnoea : development and validation of the cues to CPAP Use Questionnaire (CCUQ)

Background: The reasons that a patient has to start treatment, their “Cues to Action”, are important for determining subsequent health behaviours. Cues to action are an explicit component of the Health Belief Model of CPAP acceptance adherence. At present there is no scale available to measure this construct for individuals with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). This paper aims to develop, validate and describe responding patterns within an OSA patient sample to the Cues to CPAP Use Questionnaire (CCUQ).----- Method: Participants were 63 adult patients diagnosed with OSA who had never tried CPAP when initially recruited. The CCUQ was completed at one month after being prescribed CPAP.----- Results: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) showed a three factor structure of the 9-item CCUQ, with “Health Cues”, “Partner Cues” and “Health Professional Cues” subscales accounting for 59.91% of the total variance. The CCUQ demonstrated modest internal consistency and split-half reliability. The questionnaire is brief and user-friendly, with readability at a 7th grade level. The most frequently endorsed cues for starting CPAP were Health Professional Cues (prompting by the sleep physician) and Health Cues such as tiredness and concern about health outcomes.----- Conclusions: This study validates a measure of an important motivational component of the Health Belief Model. Health Professional Cues and internal Health Cues were reported to be the most important prompts to commence CPAP by this patient sample.

The reliability and validity of the Severity of Dependence Scale for detecting cannabis dependence in psychosis.

Aims: To determine the reliability and validity of the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) for detecting cannabis dependence in a large sample of in-patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Participants were 153 in-patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder in Brisbane, Australia. Measurements: Participants were administered the SDS for cannabis dependence in the past 12 months. The presence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Version-IV (DSM-IV) cannabis dependence in the previous 12 months was assessed using the Comprehensive International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Findings: The SDS had high levels of internal consistency and strong construct and concurrent validity. Individuals with a score of ≥2 on the SDS were nearly 30 times more likely to have DSM-IV cannabis dependence. The SDS was the strongest predictor of DSM-IV cannabis dependence after controlling for other predictor variables. Conclusions: The SDS is a brief, valid and reliable screen for cannabis dependence among people with psychosis

The impact of child sexual abuse on victims/survivors: Exploring posttraumatic outcomes as a function of childhood sexual abuse

There is sparse systematic examination of the potential for growth as well as distress that may occur for some adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The presented study explored posttraumatic growth and its relationship with negative posttrauma outcomes within the specific population of survivors of childhood sexual abuse (N = 40). Results showed that 95% of the participants experienced clinically significant post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology related to their childhood sexual abuse. In conjunction with these high levels of negative symptoms, the population evidenced posttraumatic growth levels that were comparable to other trauma samples. This research has clinical relevance in terms of adding to the knowledge base on sexual abuse and the usefulness of this knowledge in therapeutic interventions and relationships.

Mobile phone use while driving : an investigation of the beliefs influencing drivers’ hands-free and hand-held mobile phone use.

This study explored the psychological influences of hands-free and hand-held mobile phone use while driving. Participants were 796 Australian drivers aged 17 to 76 years who owned mobile phones. A cross-sectional survey assessed frequency of calling and text messaging while driving (overall, hands-free, hand-held) as well as drivers’ behavioural, normative, and control beliefs relating to mobile phone use while driving. Irrespective of handset type, 43% of drivers reported answering calls while driving on a daily basis, followed by making calls (36%), reading text messages (27%), and sending text messages (18%). In total, 63.9% of drivers did not own hands-free kits and, of the drivers that owned hand-free kits, 32% did not use it most or all of the time. Significant differences were found in the behavioural, normative, and control beliefs of frequent and infrequent users of both types of handset while driving. As expected, frequent users reported more advantages of, more approval from others for, and fewer barriers that would prevent them from, using either a hands-free or a hand-held mobile phone while driving than infrequent users. Campaigns to reduce mobile phone use while driving should attempt to minimise the perceived benefits of the behaviour and highlight the risks of this unsafe driving practice.

The use of the Index for Inclusion in a regional educational learning community

This project utilised the materials of the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 2002) to enhance the development of a learning community of educators in Education Queensland in 2009. The values, dimensions and indicators of the Index for Inclusion, were incorporated into the professional development package, On the Same Page (Education Queensland, 2008), to enhance its wider purpose to improve inclusive education practices explicit within the P-12 Curriculum Framework (Education Queensland, 2008). The incorporation of the values, dimensions and indicators of the Index enabled deeper reflection by participants about their expectations of students and their resulting teaching practices. The subsequent development of action plans assisted participants to develop “a curriculum for all” (Education Queensland, 2008, p. 9). Deeper reflection, action planning and ‘distance travelled’ in understanding of inclusive education were apparent in the comments by participants and their evaluation of the professional development package.

Asynchronicity and the ‘time envelope’ of online annotation : the case of the photosharing website, Flickr

This paper examines a sequence of asynchronous interaction on the photosharing website, Flickr. In responding to a call for a focus on the performative aspects of online annotation (Wolff & Neuwirth, 2001), we outline and apply an interaction order approach to identify temporal and cultural aspects of the setting that provide for commonality and sharing. In particular, we study the interaction as a feature of a synthetic situation (Knorr Cetina, 2009) focusing on the requirements of maintaining a sense of an ongoing discussion online. Our analysis suggests that the rhetorical system of the Flickr environment, its appropriation by participants as a context for bounded activities, and displays of commonality, affiliation, and shared access provide for a common sense of participation in a time envelope. This, in turn, is argued to be central to new processes of consociation (Schutz, 1967; Zhao, 2004) occurring in the life world of Web 2.0 environments.

Rivalry within and between strategic networks : an investigation of the United States Automotive Industry

As a consequence of the increased incidence of collaborative arrangements between firms, the competitive environment characterising many industries has undergone profound change. It is suggested that rivalry is not necessarily enacted by individual firms according to the traditional mechanisms of direct confrontation in factor and product markets, but rather as collaborative orchestration between a number of participants or network members. Strategic networks are recognised as sets of firms within an industry that exhibit denser strategic linkages among themselves than other firms within the same industry. Based on this, strategic networks are determined according to evidence of strategic alliances between firms comprising the industry. As a result, a single strategic network represents a group of firms closely linked according to collaborative ties. Arguably, the collective outcome of these strategic relationships engineered between firms suggest that the collaborative benefits attributed to interorganisational relationships require closer examination in respect to their propensity to influence rivalry in intraindustry environments. Derived in large from the social sciences, network theory allows for the micro and macro examination of the opportunities and constraints inherent in the structure of relationships in strategic networks, establishing a relational approach upon which the conduct and performance of firms can be more fully understood. Research to date has yet to empirically investigate the relationship between strategic networks and rivalry. The limited research that has been completed utilising a network rationale to investigate competitive patterns in contemporary industry environments has been characterised by a failure to directly measure rivalry. Further, this prior research has typically embedded investigation in industry settings dominated by technological or regulatory imperatives, such as the microprocessor and airline industries. These industries, due to the presence of such imperatives, are arguably more inclined to support the realisation of network rivalry, through subscription to prescribed technological standards (eg., microprocessor industry) or by being bound by regulatory constraints dictating operation within particular market segments (airline industry). In order to counter these weaknesses, the proposition guiding research - Are patterns of rivalry predicted by strategic network membership? – is embedded in the United States Light Vehicles Industry, an industry not dominated by technological or regulatory imperatives. Further, rivalry is directly measured and utilised in research, thus distinguishing this investigation from prior research efforts. The timeframe of investigation is 1993 – 1999, with all research data derived from secondary sources. Strategic networks were defined within the United States Light Vehicles Industry based on evidence of horizontal strategic relationships between firms comprising the industry. The measure of rivalry used to directly ascertain the competitive patterns of industry participants was derived from the traditional Herfindahl Index, modified to account for patterns of rivalry observed at the market segment level. Statistical analyses of the strategic network and rivalry constructs found little evidence to support the contention of network rivalry; indeed, greater levels of rivalry were observed between firms comprising the same strategic network than between firms participating in opposing network structures. Based on these results, patterns of rivalry evidenced in the United States Light Vehicle Industry over the period 1993 – 1999 were not found to be predicted by strategic network membership. The findings generated by this research are in contrast to current theorising in the strategic network – rivalry realm. In this respect, these findings are surprising. The relevance of industry type, in conjunction with prevailing network methodology, provides the basis upon which these findings are contemplated. Overall, this study raises some important questions in relation to the relevancy of the network rivalry rationale, establishing a fruitful avenue for further research.

The performance of a prolonged reading task by students with low vision

Purpose: Students often read for long periods and prolonged reading practice may be important for developing reading skills. For students with low vision, reading at a close working distance imposes high demands on their near visual functions, which might make it difficult to sustain prolonged reading. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of a prolonged reading task by students with low vision. Method: Forty students with low vision, aged from eight to 20 years and without any intellectual, reading or learning disability, were recruited through the Paediatric Low Vision Clinic, Buranda, Queensland. Following a preliminary vision examination, reading performance measures—critical print size (CPS), maximum oral reading rates (MORR), near text visual acuity— were recorded using the Bailey-Lovie text reading charts before and after a 30-minute prolonged reading task. Results: The mean age of the participants was 13.03 ± 3 years. The distance and near visual acuities ranged between -0.1 to 1.24 logMAR and 0.0 to 1.60 logMAR, respectively. The mean working distance of the participants was 11.2 ± 5.8 cm. Most of the participants (65 per cent) in this study were able to complete the prolonged reading task. Overall, there was no significant change in CPS, MORR and near text visual acuity following the prolonged task (p > 0.05). MORR was significantly correlated to age and near text visual acuity (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In this study, students with low vision were able to maintain their reading performance over a 30-minute prolonged reading task. Overall, there was no significant increase or decrease in reading performance following a prolonged reading task performed at their habitual close working distances but there were wide individual variations within the group.

The promoting adult resilience (PAR) program : the effectiveness of the second, shorter pilot of a workplace prevention program

This article details the second, successful pilot of the Promoting Adult Resilience (PAR) program in the human-services departments of a local government organization. The PAR program is a strengths-based resilience building program that integrates Interpersonal and CBT perspectives and this pilot use a shorter, 7-week version of the program. Pre, post and follow-up measures on PAR participants from a resource-sector company were compared with a non-intervention matched comparison group. Post-test, PAR participants reported greater self-efficacy, more family satisfaction, greater f\work-life fit and balance and less negative family to work spillover than the comparison group. At the 6-month follow-up, these gains were maintained to a lesser degree, although work-life balance was strengthened, and negative spillover in both directions reduced. Participants also reported greater optimism for the future, greater work satisfaction and promisingly for human service workers, exhaustion was reduced and more vigour, important for human services as burnout, exhaustion is part of this is a serious work hazard

A problem-posing intervention in the development of problem-solving competence of underachieving, middle-year students

This study reported on the issues surrounding the acquisition of problem-solving competence of middle-year students who had been ascertained as above average in intelligence, but underachieving in problem-solving competence. In particular, it looked at the possible links between problem-posing skills development and improvements in problem-solving competence. A cohort of Year 7 students at a private, non-denominational, co-educational school was chosen as participants for the study, as they undertook a series of problem-posing sessions each week throughout a school term. The lessons were facilitated by the researcher in the students’ school setting. Two criteria were chosen to identify participants for this study. Firstly, each participant scored above the 60th percentile in the standardized Middle Years Ability Test (MYAT) (Australian Council for Educational Research, 2005) and secondly, the participants all scored below the cohort average for Criterion B (Problem-solving Criterion) in their school mathematics tests during the first semester of Year 7. Two mutually exclusive groups of participants were investigated with one constituting the Comparison Group and the other constituting the Intervention Group. The Comparison Group was chosen from a Year 7 cohort for whom no problem-posing intervention had occurred, while the Intervention Group was chosen from the Year 7 cohort of the following year. This second group received the problem-posing intervention in the form of a teaching experiment. That is, the Comparison Group were only pre-tested and post-tested, while the Intervention Group was involved in the teaching experiment and received the pre-testing and post-testing at the same time of the year, but in the following year, when the Comparison Group have moved on to the secondary part of the school. The groups were chosen from consecutive Year 7 cohorts to avoid cross-contamination of the data. A constructionist framework was adopted for this study that allowed the researcher to gain an “authentic understanding” of the changes that occurred in the development of problem-solving competence of the participants in the context of a classroom setting (Richardson, 1999). Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through a combination of methods including researcher observation and journal writing, video taping, student workbooks, informal student interviews, student surveys, and pre-testing and post-testing. This combination of methods was required to increase the validity of the study’s findings through triangulation of the data. The study findings showed that participation in problem-posing activities can facilitate the re-engagement of disengaged, middle-year mathematics students. In addition, participation in these activities can result in improved problem-solving competence and associated developmental learning changes. Some of the changes that were evident as a result of this study included improvements in self-regulation, increased integration of prior knowledge with new knowledge and increased and contextualised socialisation.

The oral health of critically ill children

Introduction. In adults, oral health has been shown to worsen during critical illness as well as influence systemic health. There is a paucity of paediatric critical care research in the area of oral health; hence the purpose of the Critically ill Children’s Oral Health (CCOH) study is to describe the status of oral health of critically ill children over time spent in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The study will also examine the relationship between poor oral health and a variety of patient characteristics and PICU therapies and explore the relationship between dysfunctional oral health and PICU related Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI). Method. An observational study was undertaken at a single tertiary-referral PICU. Oral health was measured using the Oral Assessment Scale (OAS) and culturing oropharyngeal flora. Information was also collected surrounding the use of supportive therapies, clinical characteristics of the children and the occurrence of PICU related HAI. Results. Forty-six participants were consecutively recruited to the CCOH study. Of the participants 63% (n=32) had oral dysfunction while 41% (n=19) demonstrated pathogenic oropharyngeal colonisation during their critical illness. The potential systemic pathogens isolated from the oropharynx and included Candida sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Enterococcus sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The severity of critical illness had a significant positive relationship (p=0.046) with pathogenic and absent colonisation of the oropharynx. Sixty-three percent of PICU-related HAI involved the preceding or simultaneous colonisation of the oropharynx by the causative pathogen. Conclusion. Given the prevalence of poor oral health during childhood critical illness and the subsequent potential systemic consequences, evidence based oral hygiene practices should be developed and validated to guide clinicians when nursing critically ill children.

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.