Conversion of web texts into Braille characters for real time reading through arrays of electromechanical actuators

This paper describes an electronic device conceived to convert common web texts into sequences of corresponding Braille signals, which are immediately reproduced onto an array ( keyboard) of electromechanical actuators. These actuators are reconfigurable in real time, displaying the Braille characters as matrices of points composed by small stems which can be lowered or raised according to the Braille code. The device, together with its conversion software package, can provide direct access to web texts in any personal computer, thus avoiding the use of complicated Braille printers.

Evaluation and revision of inferential comprehension in narrative texts: an eye movement study

We investigated the processes of how adult readers evaluate and revise their situation model during reading by monitoring their eye movements as they read narrative texts and subsequent critical sentences. In each narrative text, a short introduction primed a knowledge-based inference, followed by a target concept that was either expected (e.g., “oven”) or unexpected (e.g., “grill”) in relation to the inferred concept. Eye movements showed that readers detected a mismatch between the new unexpected information and their prior interpretation, confirming their ability to evaluate inferential information. Just below the narrative text, a critical sentence included a target word that was either congruent (e.g., “roasted”) or incongruent (e.g., “barbecued”) with the expected but not the unexpected concept. Readers spent less time reading the congruent than the incongruent target word, reflecting the facilitation of prior information. In addition, when the unexpected (but not expected) concept had been presented, participants with lower verbal (but not visuospatial) working memory span exhibited longer reading times and made more regressions (from the critical sentence to previous information) on encountering congruent information, indicating difficulty in inhibiting their initial incorrect interpretation and revising their situation model

Verb generation in children with spina bifida.

We investigated verb generation in children with spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM; n = 55) and in typically developing controls (n = 32). Participants completed 6 blocks (40 trials each) of a task requiring them to produce a semantically related verb in response to a target noun and an additional 40 trials on which they were simply required to read target nouns aloud. After controlling for reading response time, groups did not differ significantly in verb generation response time or learning. Children with SBM produced more non-verb errors than controls and tended to repeat their mistakes over blocks. Verb generation performance was associated with brain volume measures in participants with SBM. Congenital cerebellar dysmorphology is associated with impaired performance in verb generation accuracy, although not with increased response times to produce verbs

POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS VOLTADAS PARA A FORMAÇÃO DO LEITOR: O PROJETO HORA DA LEITURA

Este trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar, a partir de uma abordagem políticoeducacional, os elementos teórico-metodológicos contidos no projeto Hora da Leitura, considerando-se os estudos de Bakhtin, Geraldi e Isabel Solé, articulandoos com o Referencial Curricular Nacional para a Educação Infantil, com os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de 1ª a 4ª séries e de 5ª a 8ª séries , com a legislação referente ao projeto e com as condições administrativo-pedagógicas em que está sendo concretizado em escolas do estado de São Paulo. Tendo sido o projeto Hora da Leitura implantado em todas as escolas da rede estadual de ensino, a partir de 2005, procurou-se verificar em que medida os primeiros resultados têm mostrado ganhos para os alunos e professores. Nesse sentido, foi aplicado um questionário aos alunos de 7ª e 8ª séries, aos professores que atuam no projeto e aos professores coordenadores de quatro escolas da rede pública de ensino estadual. O resultado da pesquisa aponta para a ineficiência do projeto, no sentido de sanar o problema da incompetência leitora, em razão de sua superficialidade e também das condições em que é operacionalizado nas escolas públicas.(AU)

POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS VOLTADAS PARA A FORMAÇÃO DO LEITOR: O PROJETO HORA DA LEITURA

Este trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar, a partir de uma abordagem políticoeducacional, os elementos teórico-metodológicos contidos no projeto Hora da Leitura, considerando-se os estudos de Bakhtin, Geraldi e Isabel Solé, articulandoos com o Referencial Curricular Nacional para a Educação Infantil, com os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de 1ª a 4ª séries e de 5ª a 8ª séries , com a legislação referente ao projeto e com as condições administrativo-pedagógicas em que está sendo concretizado em escolas do estado de São Paulo. Tendo sido o projeto Hora da Leitura implantado em todas as escolas da rede estadual de ensino, a partir de 2005, procurou-se verificar em que medida os primeiros resultados têm mostrado ganhos para os alunos e professores. Nesse sentido, foi aplicado um questionário aos alunos de 7ª e 8ª séries, aos professores que atuam no projeto e aos professores coordenadores de quatro escolas da rede pública de ensino estadual. O resultado da pesquisa aponta para a ineficiência do projeto, no sentido de sanar o problema da incompetência leitora, em razão de sua superficialidade e também das condições em que é operacionalizado nas escolas públicas.(AU)

POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS VOLTADAS PARA A FORMAÇÃO DO LEITOR: O PROJETO HORA DA LEITURA

Este trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar, a partir de uma abordagem políticoeducacional, os elementos teórico-metodológicos contidos no projeto Hora da Leitura, considerando-se os estudos de Bakhtin, Geraldi e Isabel Solé, articulandoos com o Referencial Curricular Nacional para a Educação Infantil, com os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de 1ª a 4ª séries e de 5ª a 8ª séries , com a legislação referente ao projeto e com as condições administrativo-pedagógicas em que está sendo concretizado em escolas do estado de São Paulo. Tendo sido o projeto Hora da Leitura implantado em todas as escolas da rede estadual de ensino, a partir de 2005, procurou-se verificar em que medida os primeiros resultados têm mostrado ganhos para os alunos e professores. Nesse sentido, foi aplicado um questionário aos alunos de 7ª e 8ª séries, aos professores que atuam no projeto e aos professores coordenadores de quatro escolas da rede pública de ensino estadual. O resultado da pesquisa aponta para a ineficiência do projeto, no sentido de sanar o problema da incompetência leitora, em razão de sua superficialidade e também das condições em que é operacionalizado nas escolas públicas.(AU)

Winning time in land warfare : a reading of the classical strategists prior to the age of mechanization

We live in an age where rationalization and demands of efficiency taint every aspect of our lives both as individuals and as a society. Even warfare cannot escape the increased speed of human interaction. Time is a resource to be managed. It has to be optimized, saved and won in military affairs as well. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the dogmatic texts of military thought to search for answers what the classics of strategy saw in the interrelations of temporality and warfare and if their thoughts remain meaningful in the contemporary conjunction. Since the way a society functions is reflected in the way it conducts its wars, there naturally are differences between an agrarian, industrial and information society. Theorists of different eras emphasize things specific to their times, but warfare, like any human interaction, is always bounded by temporality. Not only is the pace of warfare dependent on the progress of the society, but time permeates warfare in all its aspects. This research paper focuses on two specific topics that arose from the texts themselves; how should time be managed and manipulated in warfare and how to economize and “win” it from the enemy. A method where lengthy quotations are used to illustrate the main point of the strategists has been chosen for this research paper. While Clausewitz is the most prominent source of quotations, thoughts from ancient India and China are represented as well to prove that the combination of right force in the right place at the right time is still the way of the victorious. Tactics change in the course of time but the principles of strategy remain unaltered and are only adapted to suit new situations. While ancient and pre-modern societies had their focus on finding auspicious moments for battle in the flow of kronos-time based on divinities, portents and auguries, we can trace elements of manipulation of time in warfare from the earliest surviving texts. While time as a fourth dimension of the battlespace emerged only in the modern era, all through the history of military thought it has had a profound meaning. In the past time could be squandered, today it always has to be won. This paper asks the question “why”.

The time-course of morphological constraints: Evidence from eye-movements during reading

Lexical compounds in English are constrained in that the non-head noun can be an irregular but not a regular plural (e.g. mice eater vs. *rats eater), a contrast that has been argued to derive from a morphological constraint on modifiers inside compounds. In addition, bare nouns are preferred over plural forms inside compounds (e.g. mouse eater vs. mice eater), a contrast that has been ascribed to the semantics of compounds. Measuring eyemovements during reading, this study examined how morphological and semantic information become available over time during the processing of a compound. We found that the morphological constraint affected both early and late eye-movement measures, whereas the semantic constraint for singular non-heads only affected late measures of processing. These results indicate that morphological information becomes available earlier than semantic information during the processing of compounds.

Time flies : a reading diary /

"Published under the direction of the Tract committee."

Much instruction from little reading : or, extracts from some of the most approved authors, ancient and modern. To which are added, some biographical sketches from the earliest ages of the world to nearly the present time. Also, extensive scripture lessons. ... /

Mode of access: Internet.

Time- and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity of antibiotics used in endodontic therapy

OBJECTIVE: New drugs have to be assessed in endodontic therapy due to the presence of microorganisms resistant to therapeutic procedures. Thus, this study evaluated the time- and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity of different antibiotics used in endodontic therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Human gingival fibroblasts were treated and divided into the following experimental groups: Group I - control; Group II - ciprofoxacin hydrochloride; Group III - clyndamicin hydrochloride; and Group IV - metronidazole. Each drug was used at concentrations of 5, 50, 150, and 300 mg/L for 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by the MTT assay [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and spectrophotometric reading of ELISA plates. The results were analyzed by BioEstat 4.0 software using Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's tests at a signifcance level of 5%. Cell viability was assessed for the different concentrations and times. RESULTS: All drugs presented dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Concentrations of 5 and 50 mgjL produced viable fibroblasts at all experimental times in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cell viability at 24 h was greater than in the other experimental times. Comparison between the same concentrations of antibiotics at different times showed that metronidazole presented the highest cell viability at 72 and 96 h compared to the other antibiotics, whereas clyndamicin hydrochloride showed higher cell viability at 72 h than ciprofoxacin hydrochloride.

Enhancing the phonological processing skills of children with specific reading disability

The present study evaluated the benefits of phonological processing skills training for children with persistent reading difficulties. Children aged between 9-14 years, identified as having a specific reading disability, participated in the study. In a series of three experiments, pedagogical issues related to length of training time, model of intervention and severity of readers' phonological processing skills deficit prior to intervention, were explored. The results indicated that improvement in poor readers' phonological processing skills led to a dramatic improvement in their reading accuracy and reading comprehension performance. Increasing the length of training time significantly improved transfer effects to the reading process. Children with particularly severe phonological processing skill deficits benefited from art extended training period, and both individual and group intervention models for phonological processing training proved successful. Implications for speech and language therapists are discussed.

Accuracy and cost- and time-effectiveness of digital clip versus videotape interpretation of echocardiograms in patients with valvular disease

Background. Although digital and videotaped images are known to be comparable for the evaluation of left ventricular function, their relative accuracy for assessment of more complex anatomy is unclear. We sought to compare reading time, storage costs, and concordance of video and digital interpretations across multiple observers and sites. Methods. One hundred one patients with valvular (90 mitral, 48 aortic, 80 tricuspid) disease were selected prospectively, and studies were stored according to video and standardized digital protocols. The same reviewer interpreted video and digital images independently and at different times with the use of a standard report form to evaluate 40 items (eg, severity of stenosis or regurgitation, leaflet thickening, and calcification) as normal or mildly, moderately, or severely abnormal Concordance between modalities was expressed at kappa Major discordance (difference of >1 level of severity) was ascribed to the modality that gave the lesser severity. CD-ROM was used to store digital data (20:1 lossy compression), and super-VHS video-tape was used to store video data The reading time and storage costs for each modality were compared Results. Measured parameters were highly concordant (ejection fraction was 52% +/- 13% by both). Major discordance was rare, and lesser values were reported with digital rather than video interpretation in the categories of aortic and mitral valve thicken ing (1% to 2%) and severity of mitral regurgitation (2%). Digital reading time was 6.8 +/- 2.4 minutes, 38% shorter than with video (11.0 +/- 3.0, range 8 to 22 minutes, P < .001). Compressed digital studies had an average size of 60 <plus/minus> 14 megabytes (range 26 to 96 megabytes). Storage cost for video was A$0.62 per patient (18 studies per tape, total cost A$11.20), compared with A$0.31 per patient for digital storage (8 studies per CD-ROM, total cost A$2.50). Conclusion. Digital and video interpretation were highly concordant; in the few cases of major discordance, the digital scores were lower, perhaps reflecting undersampling. Use of additional views and longer clips may be indicated to minimize discordance with video in patients with complex problems. Digital interpretation offers a significant reduction in reading times and the cost of archiving.

Alice's anima or the obligation of a reading transliteracy

This paper suggests an analysis of "Inanimate Alice" by Kate Pullinger, Chris Joseph and Ian Harper as an example of a transmedia narrative that triggers a new reading experience whilst proposing a literary alterity between reading and performance. Narrative experiences that elect the visual plasticity, interchanging games and tactility as drivers of the creative process are not new. Yet, narrative experiences, which have been created in the gap between reality and fiction, have found on the digital realm the perfect environment to multiple hybrid experiences. Bearing in mind Walter Benjamin’s concept of Erlebnis and Erfahrung, a critical analysis of this digital fiction tries to illustrate how literary art finds its space and time in a metamorphosed continuum only activated by the “patient reader”. All the multimedia hybrids, which this digital literary work may have, challenge readers to interpret different signals and poetic structures that most of readers might not be accustomed to; however even among a cognitive dissonance, meaning is found and reading happens only if time, space and attention are available. All possible transmedia literacies can only respond to this experience of online reading, if they are able to focus and draw attention not to a simple new behaviour or a single new practice, but to a demanding state of affairs that assemble different objective and subjective value forms.