An Intelligent Computer-aided Training System (CAT) for Diagnosing Adult Illiterates: Integrating NASA Technology into Workplace Literacy

An important part of NASA's mission involves the secondary application of its technologies in the public and private sectors. One current application being developed is The Adult Literacy Evaluator, a simulation-based diagnostic tool designed to assess the operant literacy abilities of adults having difficulties in learning to read and write. Using Intelligent Computer-Aided Training (ICAT) system technology in addition to speech recognition, closed-captioned television (CCTV), live video and other state-of-the-art graphics and storage capabilities, this project attempts to overcome the negative effects of adult literacy assessment by allowing the client to interact with an intelligent computer system which simulates real-life literacy activities and materials and which measures literacy performance in the actual context of its use. The specific objectives of the project are as follows: (1) to develop a simulation-based diagnostic tool to assess adults' prior knowledge about reading and writing processes in actual contexts of application; (2) to provide a profile of readers' strengths and weaknesses; and (3) to suggest instructional strategies and materials which can be used as a beginning point for remediation. In the first and development phase of the project, descriptions of literacy events and environments are being written and functional literacy documents analyzed for their components. From these descriptions, scripts are being generated which define the interaction between the student, an on-screen guide and the simulated literacy environment

The adult literacy evaluator: An intelligent computer-aided training system for diagnosing adult illiterates

An important part of NASA's mission involves the secondary application of its technologies in the public and private sectors. One current application being developed is The Adult Literacy Evaluator, a simulation-based diagnostic tool designed to assess the operant literacy abilities of adults having difficulties in learning to read and write. Using ICAT system technology in addition to speech recognition, closed-captioned television (CCTV), live video and other state-of-the art graphics and storage capabilities, this project attempts to overcome the negative effects of adult literacy assessment by allowing the client to interact with an intelligent computer system which simulates real-life literacy activities and materials and which measures literacy performance in the actual context of its use. The specific objectives of the project are as follows: (1) To develop a simulation-based diagnostic tool to assess adults' prior knowledge about reading and writing processes in actual contexts of application; (2) to provide a profile of readers' strengths and weaknesses; and (3) to suggest instructional strategies and materials which can be used as a beginning point for remediation. In the first and developmental phase of the project, descriptions of literacy events and environments are being written and functional literacy documents analyzed for their components. Examples of literacy events and situations being considered included interactions with environmental print (e.g., billboards, street signs, commercial marquees, storefront logos, etc.), functional literacy materials (e.g., newspapers, magazines, telephone books, bills, receipts, etc.) and employment related communication (i.e., job descriptions, application forms, technical manuals, memorandums, newsletters, etc.). Each of these situations and materials is being analyzed for its literacy requirements in terms of written display (i.e., knowledge of printed forms and conventions), meaning demands (i.e., comprehension and word knowledge) and social situation. From these descriptions, scripts are being generated which define the interaction between the student, an on-screen guide and the simulated literacy environment. The proposed outcome of the Evaluator is a diagnostic profile which will present broad classifications of literacy behaviors across the major areas of metacognitive abilities, word recognition, vocabulary knowledge, comprehension and writing. From these classifications, suggestions for materials and strategies for instruction with which to begin corrective action will be made. The focus of the Literacy Evaluator will be essentially to provide an expert diagnosis and an interpretation of that assessment which then can be used by a human tutor to further design and individualize a remedial program as needed through the use of an authoring system

Noninvasive Brain Stimulation and Personal Identity: Ethical Considerations.

As noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technology advances, these methods may become increasingly capable of influencing complex networks of mental functioning. We suggest that these might include cognitive and affective processes underlying personality and belief systems, which would raise important questions concerning personal identity and autonomy. We give particular attention to the relationship between personal identity and belief, emphasizing the importance of respecting users\u27 personal values. We posit that research participants and patients should be encouraged to take an active approach to considering the personal implications of altering their own cognition, particularly in cases of neurocognitive enhancement. We suggest that efforts to encourage careful consideration through the informed consent process would contribute usefully to studies and treatments that use NIBS

Do We Need More Productive Theorizing? A Commentary

In this commentary, we argue that literacy research would be more produc- tive if researchers had a clearer, more nuanced understanding of theory. Specifically, we argue that theory in a practice-oriented field is most fun- damentally productive when it provides instrumental guidance for literacy beyond academic understanding about literacy. Premises for that argument are presented, as well as how productivity connects to an instrumental view of theory within the philosophy of science. We provide examples from au- thoritative sources and relevant studies suggesting that conceptions and uses of theory in literacy research are ambiguous, diffuse, and incoherent. We argue that productivity could be a unifying construct to ameliorate those limitations. To stimulate discussion about theory, we propose several ways that theorizing might be more productive. Those proposals comprise a cri- tique of theorizing in the field and illustrate how more productive theorizing could close the gap between research and practice. Finally, we discuss how our proposals might be implemented in the field’s research

An optimized discrete wavelet transform compression technique for image transferring over wireless multimedia sensor network

Transferring images in a wireless multimedia sensor network (WMSN) knows a fast development in both research and fields of application. Nevertheless, this area of research faces many problems such as the low quality of the received images after their decompression, the limited number of reconstructed images at the base station, and the high-energy consumption used in the process of compression and decompression. In order to fix these problems, we proposed a compression method based on the classic discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Our method applies the wavelet compression technique multiple times on the same image. As a result, we found that the number of received images is higher than using the classic DWT. In addition, the quality of the received images is much higher compared to the standard DWT. Finally, the energy consumption is lower when we use our technique. Therefore, we can say that our proposed compression technique is more adapted to the WMSN environment

Valuing the acute subjective experience

Psychedelics, including psilocybin, and other consciousness-altering compounds such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), currently are being scientifically investigated for their potential therapeutic uses, with a primary focus on measurable outcomes: for example, alleviation of symptoms or increases in self-reported well-being. Accordingly, much recent discussion about the possible value of these substances has turned on estimates of the magnitude and duration of persisting positive effects in comparison to harms. However, many have described the value of a psychedelic experience with little or no reference to such therapeutic benefits, instead seeming to find the experience valuable in its own right. How can we make sense of such testimony? Could a psychedelic experience be valuable even if there were no persisting beneficial effects? If so, how? Using the concept of psychological richness, combined with insights from the philosophy of aesthetics and the enhancement literature, this essay explores potential sources of value in the acute subjective experience, apart from the value derived from persisting beneficial effects

A multivariate analysis of first graders' print awareness as related to reading achievement, intelligence and gender.

Not confirmed were the hypothesized individual effects of reading ability and intelligence on print awareness scores. With intelligence controlled, individual measures of reading accounted for less than 20% of the variance of print awareness. With reading controlled, intelligence accounted for less than 10% of the variance. In combination, however, measures of reading achievement, intelligence and gender accounted for approximately 40% of the variance in print awareness as measured by the CAPT.Subjects for the study were 118 all white first grade students, 62 female and 56 male, from a predominantly middle class, metropolitan school district. Students were individually interviewed with the Concepts About Print Test during April. Other measures included were the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test and the Stanford Achievement Test. Statistical analyses performed were a multiple regression of print awareness on measures of reading ability, intelligence and gender, partial correlations between reading, intelligence and print awareness, a one-way MANOVA comparing above and below average readers on previously identified factors in the Concepts About Print Test (CAPT) and intelligence and, finally, a canonical correlation between aspects of print awareness and measures of reading ability.The purpose of the investigation was in part to replicate with a larger sample size previous findings that children demonstrate certain confusions about printed conventions and that above average readers perform better on measures attempting to assess knowledge of printed conventions. The study in addition set out to measure the contribution of intelligence to both print awareness and reading achievement and to test for the presence of certain hypothesized effect sizes to more precisely define the relationship between print awareness, reading ability and intelligence.In general, the study supported the findings of previous research that some beginning readers' concepts of letters, words and marks of punctuation are not stabilized even after one year of reading instruction. Significant differences were found between types of readers on the measure of intelligence and on items of the CAPT representing directional habits and pertaining to the identification of incorrect word and letter sequences and punctuation. No sex differences were found on any variables measured in the study

Pharmacological, neural, and psychological mechanisms underlying psychedelics: a critical review

Action Contro

Lifestyle and wellbeing: Exploring behavioral and demographic covariates in a large US sample

Using data from a nationally representative sample of 46,179 US adults from the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index, we investigate covariates of four subjective mental wellbeing dimensions spanning evaluative (life satisfaction), positive affective (happiness), negative affective (worry), and eudaimonic wellbeing. Negative covariates were generally more strongly correlated with the four dimensions than positive covariates, with depression, poor health, and loneliness being the greatest negative correlates and excellent health and older age being the greatest positive correlates. We reproduce previous evidence for a “midlife crisis” around age 50 across the four wellbeing dimensions. Notably, although salutogenic behaviors (diet, exercise, socializing) correlated with greater wellbeing, there were diminishing benefits beyond thresholds of about four hours a day spent socializing, four days per week of consuming fruits and vegetables, and four days per week of exercising. Findings suggest that wellbeing is easier lost than gained, underscore the influence that relatively malleable lifestyle factors have on wellbeing, and stress the importance of multidimensional measurement for public policy