The nature of literacy is discussed from the perspective of a tutor who teaches adults how to read and write. It is argued that: (1) the effects of literacy discussed in the literature do not differ qualitatively from the effects of language and (2) literacy is equivalent to skilled reading. (Author/MT)

Studies infants' symbolic gestures in and out of context with objects varying in degree of perceptual/contextual support. Results indicate vocabulary production correlates with symbolic gesture out of context and that vocabulary comprehension correlates with symbolic gesture in context. Gestures that bear the strongest relationship to language are…

This essay offers an analysis of PowerPoint apart from the histrionics of the "'Tis and 'Taint" arguments about its value, and proposes a program of research to move forward our understanding of PowerPoint as an inscriptional system. To that end, the study begins with a discussion of PowerPoint as an inscriptional system that employs both…

THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPRESS THE PURPOSE OF SYMBOLS AND USE WORDS IN SPEAKING AND WRITING A PARAGRAPH USING DIFFERENT FORMS OF WORDS OF DIFFERENT SHADES OF MEANING AND LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY. HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADD PREFIXES, SUFFIXES, AND OTHER AFFIXES TO A LIST OF ROOT WORDS AND UNDERSTAND WORDS AND THEIR ORIGINS. GIVEN A PARAGRAPH, THE…

Cognitive model of processing symbolic information abstracted from verbal expressions should consider running text, not scattered sentences. A valid abstraction of information structures should be based on explicit encoding of intentionality and valuation. A model must cope with empirical context and novelty instead of truth-values in…

(Text is in French.)

In examining Kenneth Burke's maxim "ad bellum purificandum" (translated as "the purification of war"), it seems plausible to infer that Burke's entire system of thought was based on his outrage toward war and the misuse of symbols that makes war possible. Burke saw his criticisms of war not as mere passiveness but rather as…

Compares three symbol establishment background display strategies for the representation of an event to discover the most appropriate visual. Three versions of a 90-second news report were videotaped and shown, one to each of three groups of students, and assessments of the speaker's performance and report were obtained through common descriptive…

Examines recent research on the development of symbols by hearing impaired children. Suggests that the lack of experience with symbols in the hearing domain does not impede symbolic development in other sensory domains. Deaf children do not appear to be impaired compared to normally hearing children in terms of symbolic systems serving…

Instructional strategies requiring transmediation, the process of translating meaning from one sign system (such as language) to another (such as pictures), are critical to enquiry-oriented classrooms because learners must invent a connection between the systems. This article, drawing on semiotic theory, explores how transmediation achieves its…

Emotion-laden images that arise within adult learning provide a symbolic language for helping teachers and learners understand and facilitate transformation at both the individual and group levels.

(Text is in French).

This paper discusses the interrelations between the three aspects of semiotics - semantics, syntactics and pragmatics. Topics covered include the structure of semiotics, foundations of the category of sign, the centrality of pragmatics, relations between semiotics and linguistics, and between semiotics and the theory of art. (CK)

The study investigated whether significant differences existed among normally developing 3-year-old children in transparency and in the learning of symbols from three different graphic symbol systems (Blissymbols, Picture Communication System, and Picsyms) frequently used with augmentative communication devices for communication disordered…