Raises the issue of objectivity in the dissemination of information, particularly in places where mass media, rather than other political, religious, or educational institutions dominate. Considers the semantic difficulties related to the ways in which numbers and quantitative categories are used. (DMM)

Describes the Portable AI Lab, a computing environment containing artificial intelligence (AI) tools, examples, and documentation for use with university AI courses. Two modules of the lab are highlighted: the automated theorem proving module and the natural language processing module, which includes augmented transition networks. (23 references)…

The effects of 3 factors with reputed control over the word-order options allowed by English grammar (animacy, word length, and prosody) were studied in recall and judgment tasks performed by 850 undergraduates in 7 experiments. Findings suggest a preeminent role of conceptual factors in word order. (SLD)

Mildly retarded adolescents (N=33) were assessed on the nature of the memory representation that underlies ability to remember single sentences. The cued recall procedure reflected a difference in the degree to which mentally retarded and nonretarded individuals construct sentence representations that more precisely specify sentence meaning…

Suggests a culture-independent analytical framework, based on natural semantic metalanguage developed by the author, to explore and analyze six Japanese culture-specific and culturally revealing concepts and show how the semantic metalanguage helps to make the concepts clear and facilitate better insight into Japanese culture and society. (102…

Describes and categorizes patterns we construct between texts of different kinds (patterns of intertextuality). Whether the principles of intertextuality can be applied to other sorts of semiotic "texts" such as computer graphics and hypermedia is raised as a crucial question for the future of educational research. (Contains 48…

Discusses ways that language misrepresents nature, pointing out that frequently used metaphors and problematic language usage provide limited conceptual and emotional understanding of the natural world and contribute to a degraded view of nature. Discusses strategies for changing language as the first step in changing attitudes toward nature. (LP)

Undertakes a critical language analysis of the Oakland Unified School District's 1996 resolution on Ebonics, focusing on the form, content, and function of the resolution's explicit text semantics as distinct from the public statements made about it. Discusses how the resolution frames Ebonics as a non-English-related system. (Author/SLD)

Analyzes the theoretical and the epistemological assumptions of information science. Topics include users and cognition; subject analysis; methods of classification; composition, semantics, and retrieval; the meaning of information; the typology of documents; information selection and research evaluation; and information specialists and…

This study of second- and third-grade students in the Netherlands tests the hypothesis that simplification of the semantic structure will facilitate semantic understanding and acquisition of syntax knowledge within the LOGO Turtle World. Two microworlds were designed applying the theory of automata and abstract languages. (Author/LRW)

Introduces the Knowledge Digraph Contribution (KDC) data-analysis methodology for quantitatively measuring the degree to which a given knowledge digraph can account for the occurrence of specific sequences of propositions in recall, summarization, talk-aloud and question-answering protocol data. Notes the applicability of this approach to the…

Illustrates use of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) for predicting coherence through reanalyzing two studies that manipulated coherence of texts and assessed readers' comprehension. Finds that LSA predicts effects of text coherence on comprehension. Notes that LSA can be applied as an automated method that produces coherence predictions similar to…

Argues that researchers in the area of discourse comprehension and mental representation of discourse will likely feel motivated to adopt highly quantitative research techniques described in the articles in this special issue. Notes that ability to do so will be enhanced by availability of well-documented, easy-to-use computer software, or…

This study analyzed the spontaneous speech of eight Israeli children (ages 3-6) with congenital neurological syndromes (NS) and cognitive impairments. Comparison with language-matched controls found no differences on 10 grammatical variables and slight differences on 3 semantic-pragmatic variables. Findings suggest a mechanism functionally akin to…

Investigated the influence of morphologically complex and simple words on the production of morphologically complex and simple picture names in five picture-word interference studies. Two variants of picture-word interference were employed to separate morphological from semantic and phonological effects. (Author/VWL)