Computer tool for use by children with learning difficulties in spelling

The development of a computer tool to be used by children with learning difficulties in spelling is described in this thesis. Children with spelling disabilities were observed by the author, and their errors were recorded. Based on analysis of these errors, a scheme of error classification was devised. It was hypothesized that there were regularities in the errors; that the classification scheme describing these errors could provide adequate information to enable a computer program to 'debug' the children's errors and to reconstruct the intended words; and that the children would be able to recognize correct spellings even if they could not produce them. Two computer programs, the EDITCOST and the PHONCODE programs, were developed. These incorporated information about the types of errors that were made by the children, described in terms of the classification scheme. They were used both to test the hypotheses and as potential components of a larger program to be used as a compensatory tool. The main conclusions drawn from this research are: The errors made by children with learning difficulties in spelling show regularities in both the phoneme-grapheme correspondences and at the level of the orthography. The classification scheme developed, based on the children's errors, provides a description of these errors. It provides adequate information to enable a computer program to 'debug' the children's errors and to reconstruct the intended words. Computer tools in the form of interactive spelling correctors are able to offer a correction for a substantial proportion of the child's errors, and could be extended to provide more information about the children's errors. They are also suitable for use with other groups of children

Improving an Open Source Geocoding Server

A common problem in geocoding is that the postal addresses as requested by the user differ from the addresses as described in the database. The online, open source geocoder called Nominatim is one of the most used geocoders nowadays. However, this geocoder lacks the interactivity that most of the online geocoders already offer. The Nominatim geocoder provides no feedback to the user while typing addresses. Also, the geocoder cannot deal with any misspelling errors introduced by the user in the requested address. This thesis is about extending the functionality of the Nominatim geocoder to provide fuzzy search and autocomplete features. In this work I propose a new index and search strategy for the OpenStreetMap reference dataset. Also, I extend the search algorithm to geocode new address types such as street intersections. Both the original Nominatim geocoder and the proposed solution are compared using metrics such as the precision of the results, match rate and keystrokes saved by the autocomplete feature. The test addresses used in this work are a subset selected among the Swedish addresses available in the OpenStreetMap data set. The results show that the proposed geocoder performs better when compared to the original Nominatim geocoder. In the proposed geocoder, the users get address suggestions as they type, adding interactivity to the original geocoder. Also, the proposed geocoder is able to find the right address in the presence of errors in the user query with a match rate of 98%.The demand of geospatial information is increasing during the last years. There are more and more mobile applications and services that require from the users to enter some information about where they are, or the address of the place they want to find for example. The systems that convert postal addresses or place descriptions into coordinates are called geocoders. How good or bad a geocoder is not only depends on the information the geocoder contains, but also on how easy is for the users to find the desired addresses. There are many well-known web sites that we use in our everyday life to find the location of an address. For example sites like Google Maps, Bing Maps or Yahoo Maps are accessed by millions of users every day to use such services. Among the main features of the mentioned geocoders are the ability to predict the address the user is writing in the search box, and sometimes even to correct any misspellings introduced by the user. To make it more complicated, the predictions and error corrections these systems perform are done in real time. The owners of these address search engines usually impose some restrictions on the number of addresses a user is allowed to search monthly, above which the user needs to pay a fee in order to keep using the system. This limit is usually high enough for the end user, but it might not be enough for the software developers that want to use geospatial data in their products. There is a free alternative to the address search engines mentioned above called Nominatim. Nominatim is an open source project whose purpose is to search addresses among the OpenStreetMap dataset. OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project that tries to map places in the real world into coordinates. The main drawback of Nominatim is that the usability is not as good as the competitors. Nominatim is unable to find addresses that are not correctly spelled, neither predicts the user needs. In order for this address search engine to be among the most used the prediction and error correction features need to be added. In this thesis work I extend the search algorithms of Nominatim to add the functionality mentioned above. The address search engine proposed in this thesis offers a free and open source alternative to users and systems that require access to geospatial data without restrictions

A compilation, tabulation and analysis of spelling errors made by pupils in grades four, five, and six in free writing of sentences using given stimuli words

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

(The) cultivation of a spelling sense and a spelling independence.

Typewritten sheets in cover. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Students strategy to overcome handwriting orthographic mistake in the written english class of UINSA

Spelling termasuk masalah krusial yang sering diabaikan oleh pelajar. Di negara non berbahasa inggris yang seharusnya memberi perhatian lebih terhadap spelling, tatapi malah sering dilupakan. Meskipun sekarang ini pelajar disediakan dengan banyak jenis aplikasi spell checker, tetapi aplikasi apapun tidak akan menolong siswa dalam menulis dengan cara tradisional menggunakan tangan. Karena kurangnya fasilitas untuk belajar spelling di sekolah ata kampus, siswa mempelajari kemampuan spelling secara mandiri untuk menyokong keempat kemampuan dasar berbahasa. Berdasarkan alasan tersebut peneliti tertarik untuk mnengetahui strategy apa yang digunakan siswa untuk menghindara kesalahan pengejaan dan dalam mempelajari pengejaan kata-kata baru. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini berfokus pada strategy yang digunakan siswa untuk menghindari kesalahan pengejaan dan dalm mempelajari kata baru dan juga kesalahan pengejaan yang mungkin terjadi dalam tulisan menggunakan tangan yang tanpa dibantu aplikasi spell checker apapun. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitaive dalam mengalisa data yang didapat. Peneliti menganalisa 2 jenis tulisan oleh 14 mahasiswa menggunakan table pengisian sebagai instrument pembantu. Peneliti juga menggunakan kuisioner untuk mengumpulkan data tentang strategi yang digunakan siswa berkaitan dengan peguasaan kemampuan mengeja. hasilnya, peneliti menemukan bahwa diantara 11 jenis kesalahan pengejaan, 7 diantaranya ditemukan dalam tulisan tangan siswa. Diantaranya phonogram (6 kata), silent vowel (4 kata), consonant digraph (3 kata), consonant form (3 kata), vowel digraph (1 kata) dan confusing homophone (1 kata). Selanjutnya, strategy yang digunakan siswa untuk menghindari kesalahan pengejaan termasuk penggunaan kamus atau sumber lain (72%), memvisualkan kata (22%), dan strategy yang lain (6%). Strategi yang digunakan siswa untuk mempelajari pengejaan kata baru termasuk menggunakan kamus atau sumber lain (50%), menggunakan strategi pentransferan suara kedalam simbol (27%), menggunakan mnemonic atau jembatan keledai (9%), dan strategy lain (14%). Yang intinya, phonogram adalah jenis misspelling yang mendominasi pada teks tulisan tangan siswa, dan siswa masih mengandalkan kamus dan alat bantu lainnya untuk menghindari misspelling dan juga mempelajari kata -kata terbaru

An analysis of spelling errors in relation to auditory and visual discrimination

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Query Expansion Techniques for Enterprise Search

Although web search remains an active research area, interest in enterprise search has waned. This is despite the fact that the market for enterprise search applications is expected to triple within the next six years, and that knowledge workers spend an average of 1.6 to 2.5 hours each day searching for information. To improve search relevancy, and hence reduce this time, an enterprise- focused application must be able to handle the unique queries and constraints of the enterprise environment. The goal of this thesis research was to develop, implement, and study query expansion techniques that are most effective at improving relevancy in enterprise search. The case-study instrument used in this investigation was a custom Apache Solr-based search application deployed at a local medium-sized manufacturing company. It was hypothesized that techniques specifically tailored to the enterprise search environment would prove most effective. Query expansion techniques leveraging entity recognition, alphanumeric term identification, intent classification, collection enrichment, and word vectors were implemented and studied using real enterprise data. They were evaluated against a test set of queries developed using relevance survey results from multiple users, using standard relevancy metrics such as normalized discounted cumulative gain (nDCG). Comprehensive analysis revealed that the current implementation of the collection enrichment and word vector query expansion modules did not demonstrate meaningful improvements over the baseline methods. However, the entity recognition, alphanumeric term identification, and query intent classification modules produced meaningful and statistically significant improvements in relevancy, allowing us to accept the hypothesis

Spelling: Processes and strategies in print and computer formats.

Research addressing the role of format on spellers\u2019 abilities to recognize and correct errors has neglected to incorporate the variables of error type and strategic engagement in their studies. Thus, the three experiments in this dissertation examined the abilities of various types of spellers (above average, average, below average, and second language) across print and computer formats. The experiments introduced the role of attention as a factor in error blindness (i.e., inability to detect mistakes) for spelling recognition tasks, and the role of working memory in the graded quality of mental representations for spelling production tasks (i.e., correction of misspellings). In each experiment, spellers were randomly assigned to one of four counterbalanced groups. Spellers were asked to detect and correct misspelling for two essays in print and computer formats, identifying the spelling strategies applied. The studies compared word knowledge levels to error detection and correction abilities; attentional and working memory processes accounted for the influence of the type of error and format on spelling performance. Findings demonstrated inherent processing differences between spelling recognition and production processes and the masking effects of the application of strategies on spelling accuracy. Effects of error type in terms of saliency and clarity were found as phonological errors were easier to detect and correct, but morphological errors were more prone to error blindness regardless of the format. Spellers\u2019 quality of mental representations remained equally accessible due to their grounding in orthography. Format alone did not have an effect on accuracy, but did have an effect on strategic engagement. Format evidenced higher cognitive demands in the computer format and when spellers switched work from computer to print. These changes were explained by the operations of a modulatory mechanism that inhibits the kind of information to be processed in the graphemic buffer. It is concluded that language processing models ... can account for these findings by including the function of lexical strategies in reading and spelling tasks.\--P. ii-iii.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b178383

Annotated bibliography of audio-visual materials to assist the development of word recognition skills in kindergarten and/or primary school

The objective of this study, therefore, is to present an annotated list of filmstrips, movies, recordings, tapes, and transparencies for the teaching of the word recognition skills at the kindergarten, first, second, and third grade levels. The list includes publishers\u27 names, prices, and a brief description of content. No attempt has been made to evaluate these materials. Therefore, readers are cautioned that materials herein listed are not necessarily endorsed by the author. The listings are meant to be a resource for the professional who may want to investigate and/or purchase specific audio-visual aids to supplement the developmental or remedial reading program

Pronouncing French Names in New Orleans

This article, based on 984 interviews with bearers of French names in the city of New Orleans, investigates the use of the notion of pronunciation as a device by which speakers manage their talk. The investigation proceeded primarily by eliciting ways in which people employ devices for talking about talk in everyday communicative interactions, as a means to manage various types of communicational phenomena and to deal with communication difficulties emerging from a clash of phonetic traditions. The result is a definition of pronunciation in terms which are used by a majority of speakers. An appendix gives a list of names, with comments by their bearers concerning ways in which those bearers would attempt to convey to mispronouncers the correct pronunciation of their names