scholarly journals Prosodic sensitivity and reading fluency of musicians and non-musicians

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja L. Obergfell ◽  
Barbara M. Schmidt ◽  
Prisca Stenneken ◽  
Sonja K. Wittemann ◽  
Alfred Schabmann
Keyword(s):  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Reciprocal Effect ◽  
Reading Groups ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Unique Effect ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Prosodic Sensitivity ◽  
Reading Measures

Abstract This study investigates the effects of prosodic sensitivity on reading. Highly capable adult musicians (i.e., persons with potentially excellent prosodic skills) and non-musicians were compared in terms of prosodic sensitivity and reading. Furthermore, the study examines possible reciprocal effects of prosodic sensitivity and reading. Sixty native German-speaking university students, musicians (n = 30) and non-musicians (n = 30), completed three measures of prosodic sensitivity on the sentence level. In addition, word and nonword reading were tested. To check for possible reciprocal effects of prosodic sensitivity and reading, groups of musicians and non-musicians matched on the reading level as well as the prosodic sensitivity level were compared. The results showed that musicians outperformed non-musicians in two of the three prosodic sensitivity measures and both reading measures. Considering subgroup analysis this seems to indicate a non-reciprocal effect of prosodic sensitivity on reading. Moreover, when controlling for phonological awareness, prosodic sensitivity showed a unique effect on reading in the whole sample. Based on the results, we argue that good prosodic sensitivity can facilitate reading performance.

Detecting Different Types of Reading Difficulties: A Comparison of Tests

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Moore ◽  
Melanie A. Porter ◽  
Saskia Kohnen ◽  
Anne Castles
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Reading Difficulties ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Irregular Word ◽  
Reading Measures ◽  
Comparison Of Tests ◽  
Single Word Reading ◽  
The Impact

The focus of this paper is on the assessment of the two main processes that children must acquire at the single word reading level: word recognition (lexical) and decoding (nonlexical) skills. Guided by the framework of the dual route model, this study aimed to (1) investigate the impact of item characteristics on test performance, and (2) determine to what extent widely used reading measures vary in their detection of lexical and nonlexical reading difficulties. Thirty children with reading difficulties were administered selected reading subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III, the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Second Edition, the Castles and Coltheart Reading Test 2 (CC2), as well as a measure of nonverbal IQ. Both within-subjects analyses and descriptive data are presented. Results suggest that in comparison to a pure measure of irregular word reading, children with reading difficulties perform better on word identification subtests containing both regular and irregular word items. Furthermore, certain characteristics (e.g., length, similarity to real words) appear to influence the level of difficulty of nonword items and tests. The CC2 subscales identified the largest proportions of children with reading difficulties. Differences between all test scores were of statistical and clinical significance. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Reading Fluency Estimates of Current Intellectual Function: Demographic Factors and Effects of Type of Stimuli

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis G. Simos ◽  
Georgios D. Sideridis ◽  
Dimitrios Kasselimis ◽  
Angeliki Mouzaki
Keyword(s):  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Clinical Value ◽  
Intellectual Capacity ◽  
Reading Measures ◽  
And Performance

AbstractThe study explores the potential clinical value of reading fluency measures in complementing demographic variables as indices of current intellectual capacity. IQ estimates (based on the PPVT-R, WASI Vocabulary and Block Design subtests) were obtained from a representative, non-clinical sample of 386 Greek adults aged 48–87 years along with two measures of reading efficiency (one involving relatively high-frequency words—WRE—and the second comprised of phonotactically matched pseudowords—PsWRE). Both reading measures (number of items read correctly in 45 s) accounted for significant portions of variability in demographically adjusted verbal and performance IQ indices. Reading measures provided IQ estimates which were significantly closer to those predicted by demographic variables alone in up to 22% of individuals with fewer than 7 (across all ages) or 13 years of formal education (in the 70–87 year age range). PsWRE scores slightly outperformed WRE scores in predicting a person's estimated verbal or performance IQ. Results are discussed in the context of previous findings using reading accuracy measures for low-frequency words with exceptional spellings in less transparent orthographic systems such as English. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–7)

Readability assessment for text simplification

2014 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sowmya Vajjala ◽  
Detmar Meurers
Keyword(s):  
Standard Test ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Text Simplification ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Test Corpus ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Readability Assessment ◽  
Document Level ◽  
Readability Formulas

Readability assessment can play a role in the evaluation of a simplification algorithm as well as in the identification of what to simplify. While some previous research used traditional readability formulas to evaluate text simplification, there is little research into the utility of readability assessment for identifying and analyzing sentence level targets for text simplification. We explore this aspect in our paper by first constructing a readability model that is generalizable across corpora and across genres and later adapting this model to make sentence-level readability judgments. First, we report on experiments establishing that the readability model integrating a broad range of linguistic features works well at a document level, performing on par with the best systems on a standard test corpus. Next, the model is confirmed to be transferable to different text genres. Moving from documents to sentences, we investigate the model’s ability to correctly identify the difference in reading level between a sentence and its human simplified version. We conclude that readability models can be useful for identifying simplification targets for human writers and for evaluating machine generated simplifications.

Effects of the parental environment on full-sib families of Pinussylvestris

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingegerd Dormling ◽  
Øystein Johnsen
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Seed Weight ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Frost Hardiness ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Height Increment ◽  
Identical Pair ◽  
Reciprocal Effect ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Sib Families

Identical pair crosses, including reciprocals, in Pinussylvestris L. (Scots pine) were made on ramets of the same clones in three clonal archives (seed orchards) in Sweden: Sävar (64°N), Röskär (59.5°N), and Degeberga (56°N). The offspring were used to test the hypothesis that the parental environment could affect the performance of the progeny (aftereffects). Growth and freezing tests were performed in the controlled conditions of the Stockholm Phytotron. Parental environment affected seed weight: the heaviest seeds came from Röskär and the lightest seeds, from Degeberga. Height development was affected in the two growth periods tested: seeds from Sävar produced the shortest plants and seeds from Röskär, the tallest plants. There was an effect on the autumn frost hardiness in the first growth period that disappeared after the second growth period. The most hardy progenies came from Sävar. The aftereffects of the parental environment were less than the maternal effects on seed weight and also less than the effects of full-sib families on growth and autumn frost hardiness. Small but mostly significant reciprocal effects were found for height and height increment during the second growth period. There was a significant reciprocal effect for seed weight. Seed weight differences could explain only a small part of the effects on growth and none of the effects on hardiness.

scholarly journals How causal is a reciprocal effect? Contrasting traditional and new methods to investigate the reciprocal effects model of self-concept and achievement

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Hübner ◽  
Wolfgang Wagner ◽  
Steffen Zitzmann ◽  
Benjamin Nagengast
Keyword(s):  
Large Body ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Continuous Treatment ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Reciprocal Effect ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Random Intercept ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Weighting Methods

The relationship between students’ subject-specific academic self-concept and their academic achievement is one of the most widely researched topics in educational psychology. A large body of this research has considered cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs), oftentimes synonymously referred to as reciprocal effects models (REMs), as a gold standard to investigate the causal relations between the two variables and has reported evidence for a reciprocal relationship between self-concept and achievement. However, more recent methodological research questioned the plausibility of assumptions that need to be satisfied in order to interpret results from traditional CLPMs causally. In this substantive-methodological synergy, we aimed at contrasting traditional and more recently developed methods to investigate reciprocal effects of students’ academic self-concept and achievement. Specifically, we compared results from CLPMs, from full forward CLPMs (FF-CLPMs), and from random intercept CLPMs (RI-CLPMs) with two weighting approaches developed to study causal effects of continuous treatment variables. To estimate these different models, we used rich longitudinal data of N = 3,757 students from lower secondary schools in Germany. Results from CLPMs, FF-CLPMs, and weighting methods support the reciprocal effects model, particularly when considering math self-concept and grades. In contrast, results from the RI-CLPMs were less consistent. Implications from our study for the interpretation of effects from the different models and methods as well as for school motivation theory are discussed.

scholarly journals The contribution of phonological awareness and naming speed to reading vowelized and unvowelized texts in Arabic

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 703-717
Author(s):  
Maysa Jabbour ◽  
Raphiq Ibrahim ◽  
Michal Shany
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Naming Speed ◽  
Third Grade ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Orthographic Transparency ◽  
Reading Accuracy ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Reading Measures

The aim of this study is to assess the contribution of and phonological awareness and naming speed abilities to reading in the Arabic language. For this purpose, 117 third and fifth grade Arabic-speaking children with intact verbal abilities were given measures of phonological awareness and naming speed, as well as reading measures of vowelized and unvowelized texts. The results revealed a modest correlation between phonological awareness and naming speed (NS) measures. Also, as predicted, a significant relationship was found between phonological awareness measures and reading accuracy; and between naming speed measures and fluency. Following, Hierarchal regression analyses revealed that, phonological awareness measures contributed significantly to variance in  reading accuracy, and naming speed measures contributed a unique variance in reading fluency. Further analysis revealed that naming speed measures explain more variance in fluency and explained more variance in third grade than in fifth grade while phonological awareness measures explained more variance in fifth grade than in third grade. These results reveal that both abilities are key components in reading acquisition in Arabic, and that their relative contribution to reading not only depends on the orthographic transparency, but to other features as well.

Rio 2016 Olympic Games: Brand and the reciprocal effects of touristic destinations

2021 ◽  
pp. 135676672110632
Author(s):  
Luciana Brandão Ferreira ◽  
Janaina de Moura Engracia Giraldi ◽  
Glauber Eduardo de Oliveira Santos ◽  
Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour
Keyword(s):  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Brand Image ◽  
Simultaneous Equation ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Reciprocal Effect ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Destination Brand ◽  
Mega Event

This study analyzes the effect of Brazil's national tourism brand on the image of Rio de Janeiro as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, and the reciprocal effect of Rio de Janeiro on Brazil, considering both as tourist destinations. A quantitative study was employed using structured questionnaires, with a sample of foreign respondents ( n = 340) and a simultaneous equation method. A positive reciprocal effect was found. In general, the perception of a country as a tourist destination influences destinations within that country. However, the Brazil destination brand image did not influence Rio. This situation was proved to be an exception to the rule, the sports mega-event context probably contributing to the result.

scholarly journals Examining Agreement and Longitudinal Stability Among Traditional and RTI-Based Definitions of Reading Disability Using the Affected-Status Agreement Statistic

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica S. Brown Waesche ◽  
Christopher Schatschneider ◽  
Jon K. Maner ◽  
Yusra Ahmed ◽  
Richard K. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Reading Disability ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Low Achievement ◽  
Word Fluency ◽  
Longitudinal Stability ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Reading Measures

Rates of agreement among alternative definitions of reading disability and their 1- and 2-year stabilities were examined using a new measure of agreement, the affected-status agreement statistic. Participants were 288,114 first through third grade students. Reading measures were Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency and Nonsense Word Fluency, and six levels of severity of poor reading were examined (25th, 20th, 15th, 10th, 5th, and 3rd percentile ranks). Four definitions were compared, including traditional unexpected low achievement and three response-to-intervention-based definitions: low achievement, low growth, and dual discrepancy. Rates of agreement were variable but only poor to moderate overall, with poorest agreement between unexpected low achievement and the other definitions. Longitudinal stability was poor, with poorest stability for the low growth definition. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Syntactically cued text facilitates oral reading fluency in developing readers

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
VALERIE MARCIARILLE LEVASSEUR ◽  
PAUL MACARUSO ◽  
LAURA CONWAY PALUMBO ◽  
DONALD SHANKWEILER
Keyword(s):  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Oral Reading Fluency ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Text Format ◽  
Structure Preserving ◽  
Developing Readers ◽  
Reading Measures ◽  
Oral Reading Rate ◽  
Syntactic Boundaries

Can fluency in oral reading be facilitated by formatting text to preserve major syntactic boundaries? Seven-, 8-, and 9-year-old children read aloud passages under two text format conditions. In the structure-preserving condition, the ends of lines coincided with ends of clauses; in the phrase-disrupting condition, line breaks always interrupted a phrasal unit. Experiment 1 showed that oral reading fluency, as indexed by skill in phrasal reading, was rated higher when children were reading in the structure-preserving condition. In addition, the structure-preserving condition resulted in significantly fewer false starts at the beginning of lines following a return sweep. The results of Experiment 2, in which texts of varying levels of difficulty were read by slightly older readers, confirmed both findings. Measures of fluency were correlated with other language and reading measures; however, no effects of format were obtained on oral reading rate (words correct per minute). Taken as a whole, these findings indicate a benefit of keeping clausal units intact in promoting fluent reading by facilitating the transition from one line to the next.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document