This paper discusses self-reference in the text, in order to examine its rhetorical intentions, and the writing strategies it offers an author. Following a brief introduction, the first section deals with definitions, and classifies self-reference "markers." The second section discusses intentions and self-reference, while the third…

Finds that the reader's purpose for reading (read-to-do or read-to-recall) partially determines what type of mental representation is stressed during comprehension. Finds that the processing of procedural text is codetermined by the participants' purpose for reading and type of text (narrative versus list-like) as well as the text structure (as…

Natural systems are self-organizing and stratify according to the angular articulation of their movements. In particular, movement is relative to the levels that define its behavior space. As natural phenomenon, text production is self-referential, In generating information, the intention of the producer of a text becomes specified. Specifying of…

Two experiments involving 285 college students investigated effects of signaling devices (headings, overviews, and summaries) on text memory. Signals produced recalls better organized by text topics. Results support a model in which signals influence readers' representations of a text's topic structure, which in turn guides recall of text content.…

Describes a recursive transition network model that analyzes and represents a story as a causal network of categorized clauses and labeled relations. Reports on two experiments using procedural criteria to identify inferences and the assumptions that inferences operate over distances in the text and are transitive, resulting in a network…

Studies the comprehension processes of good and poor readers within a severe to profoundly deaf orally educated population. Supports a multiprocess model where an individual's knowledge both of text structures and of specific content areas play major roles. Shows that characteristics such as age and linguistic experience are important factors in…

A new approach to the study of text building behavior is possible through the application of Scanator. This paper consists of a demonstration of some of its fundamental functions. These are suitable in a study of text building. The basic concepts, expressed through an analysis of a small part of an interview text, derive from a thermodynamic…

To discover what variables are involved in the production of text coherence, and how cohesion and coherence are different, a study collected 30 papers randomly selected from over 200 papers written by incoming freshmen college students at a local community college. The papers were rated by 21 state conference participants. Raters were in-service…

Describes the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia that contains an online collection of full-text databases delivered through a single search program. Highlights include user support services; use of Standard Generalized Markup Language; users; and providing a model for other universities. (LRW)

The goal of this study was to analyze the development of the relationship between conceptual and linguistic processes as regards idea ordering and structuring (linearizing), when composing a text. Participants (from 7th graders to University students) were required to compose a text using a list of eleven scrambled ideas. Conceptual rules allow to…

Describes two studies that compared university students' judgments about the readability and studyability of two sets of computer screens: a set of model displays and a set of real screens copied from computer-assisted instruction programs. Relationships among viewers' preferences and field dependence/independence, conceptual style, and gender…

Discusses changes in higher education that are resulting from the use of hypermedia. Topics addressed include the structure of traditional texts; a distributed model for academic communication; independent learning as a model for higher education; skills for hypermedia literacy; database searching; information retrieval; authoring skills; design…