Parsing Ability and Reading Comprehension in a Second Language: Are the Two Related?

Many studies of reading comprehension have dealt with how a text's syntax and semantics interfere with or assist the reader in getting meaning. These effects have typically been observed in the product of the reading process, reading comprehension. However, there has been little research into how these phenomena pose problems within the reading process itself. An investigation of parsing as a sub-process of reading which utilizes reader's syntactic and semantic competence may help us better understand how this competence affects the reading process as a whole. Parsing refers to the process of segmenting sentences into units of meaning. By doing so, readers process incoming data economically as memory and processing constraints limit the amount of data which can be dealt with at one time. This paper discusses the research on parsing and its possible relation to reading comprehension. It also reports a study investigating parsing ability in native and nonnative speakers and the relationship between parsing ability and reading comprehension in a second language (L2). There have been no studies dealing directly with the relationship between the ability to parse and reading comprehension in a foreign or second language. However, the strong influence language proficiency seems to exert on L2 reading suggests that the ability to parse could be a decisive factor in reaching the threshold level of linguistic competence thought by Cummins (1979) to be necessary for fluent reading (Goodman, 1970; Clarke, 1980)

Teacher Perceptions of PSInet as a Computer Teleconferencing Network for the Improvement of Science and Mathematics Education

x, 138 leaves. Advisor: Jack A. GerlovichThis is a descriptive study of two small groups of educators in Iowa during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 school years. The researcher examined the use of People Sharing Information network (PSInet) by "new user" educators. PSInet is an asynchronous teleconferencing network that provides modifiable conferencing and private messaging to network users. The participants were surveyed using "Likert-type" survey questions and discussion questions to determine ease of setting up computer hardware, learning to use the software and network, applicability to the teaching/learning processes, and difficulties encountered by the "new user" educators. Analysis of responses suggests teachers are more apt to promote student use than self use, are more likely to use telecommunication via PSInet to communicate locally than long distances, and are more likely to communicate within their own school system than with sources outside the system. Results suggest asynchronous teleconferencing using PSInet is easy to set up and use, and is applicable to those teaching/learning projects that could benefit by sharing data gathered in several different locations, and projects requiring collaboration among individuals geographically remote to one another. Indications are PSInet provides accessibility to near or distant colleagues and other professionals with ease. Problems associated with applying PSInet to the teaching/learning process seem to be related to educator time constraints and adapting the structure of teaching/learning processes to make use of the technology

Presuming the influence of the media: teenagers’ constructions of gender identity through sexual/romantic relationships and alcohol consumption

Using empirical data from group discussions and in-depth interviews with 13 to 15-year olds in Scotland, this study explores how teenagers’ alcohol drinking and sexual/romantic relationships were shaped by their quest for appropriate gendered identities. In this, they acknowledged the influence of the media, but primarily in relation to others, not to themselves, thereby supporting Milkie's ‘presumed media influence’ theory. Media portrayals of romantic/sexual relationships appeared to influence teenagers’ constructions of gender-appropriate sexual behaviour more than did media portrayals of drinking behaviour, perhaps because the teenagers had more firsthand experience of observing drinking than of observing sexual relationships. Presumed media influence may be less influential if one has experience of the behaviour portrayed. Drinking and sexual behaviour were highly interrelated: sexual negotiation and activities were reportedly often accompanied by drinking. For teenagers, being drunk or, importantly, pretending to be drunk, may be a useful way to try out what they perceived to be gender-appropriate identities. In sum, teenagers’ drinking and sexual/romantic relationships are primary ways in which they do gender and the media's influence on their perceptions of appropriate gendered behaviour is mediated through peer relationships

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 36, No. 2

• Immigration and Ethnicity in the Anthracite Region: The Peter Kowker Story • Diamond Notching in America and Europe • The Centennial of a First-Class Trip on Pennsylvania Canals: The Voyage of the Molly-Polly-Chunker • Journey Home: Pennsylvania German Ethnicity in Wallace Stevens • Quakers in the Lancaster Gaol, 1778https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1114/thumbnail.jp

Witness: The Modern Writer as Witness

Editor\u27s Note [Excerpt] Magic can mean many different things, especially for writers. Magic can be an illusion, a sleight of hand designed to trick onlookers into believing the impossible. Or magic can be a supernatural force in a world of harsh reality, a set of beliefs that sits just outside the realms of organized religion and advanced technology. Wizards and demons, Las Vegas entertainers and houngans --they all practice a kind of sorcery. For poets and prose writers, though, magic affords an opportunity for us to stretch the limitations of the physical world in search of new themes, settings, and characters. Magic is a door we eagerly walk through to reach new lands. We at Witness have thoroughly enjoyed the process of selecting the themed works we have collected here, mainly because the idea of enchantment is inspiring. There is the possibility of positive charms; there is a chance for dark witchery. And sometimes the spell cast by a character is nebulous, difficult to categorize. It’s arguable that we cherish these incantations the most, since they leave us in a state of wonderment bordering on disorientation. Yes, magic can also leave us bewildered and thankful for the bewilderment.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/witness/1001/thumbnail.jp

Indigenous family violence : an attempt to understand the problems and inform appropriate and effective responses to criminal justice system intervention

Whilst high levels of concern about the prevalence of family violence within Indigenous communities have long been expressed, progress in the development of evidence-based intervention programs for known perpetrators has been slow. This review of the literature aims to provide a resource for practitioners who work in this area, and a framework from within which culturally specific violence prevention programs can be developed and delivered. It is suggested that effective responses to Indigenous family violence need to be informed by culturally informed models of violence, and that significant work is needed to develop interventions that successfully manage the risk of perpetrators of family violence committing further offences.<br /