This study with 47 university students having reading disabilities, 15 students with other learning disabilities, and 12 nondisabled readers found that most nondisabled subjects used a phonological rehearsal strategy for words and nonwords, whereas students with reading disabilities consistently used a strategy of visual scanning for these tasks.…

Shows that color blindness, whether partial or total, inhibits literacy acquisition. Offers a case study of a third grader with impaired color vision. Presents a review of literature on the topic. Notes that people with color vision deficits are often unaware of the handicap. (RS)

In three experiments, children of three through six years of age were generally better able to reproduce a perceiver's perspective if a visual cue in the perceiver's line of sight was salient. Children had greater difficulty when the task hinged on attending to configural cues. Availability of distinctive cues affixed to objects facilitated…

This reprinted 1971 article reports on analysis of a 1968 survey of 221 research administrators in terms of organizational affiliation, duties and responsibilities, titles, and educational background. The paper argues that administration is like the doughnut hole, but research is the doughnut, and points out that research as an activity needs to…

The effect of background color on the perception of color by students is discussed. Explanations on why students only see certain colors when viewing colored marks on a blackboard through different color filters are provided. (KR)

A large body of data is reviewed to support a new theory of motion perception described by S. Grossberg and M. E. Rudd (1989). The Motion Boundary Contour System is used to explain classical and recent data about motion perception that have not been explained by other models. (SLD)

A sample of 48 children with and without musical training were presented with a melody of 9 notes and asked to select the line drawing that best depicted the melodic contour. Findings indicated a lengthy course of development of sensitivity to diatonic scale structure and suggested that musical training may enhance acquisition of this type of…

Event-related potentials (ERPs) of children and adults were measured while subjects observed pictures of facial expressions. Adults had greater ERP responses to happy than to angry faces, whereas children had greater ERP responses to angry than to happy faces. (BC)

This study compared 20 children (ages 8-14) with either autism or receptive developmental language disorder (RDLD) to 10 controls in their ability to detect frequent and infrequent randomly presented auditory stimuli. Only the children with autism demonstrated an abnormally small amplitude of the P3b, a component of the event-related brain…

This study evaluated the peripheral and central auditory functioning (and thus the potential to perceive obstacles through reflected sound) of eight totally blind persons and eight sighted persons. The blind subjects were able to process auditory information faster than the control group. (Author/DB)

Two experiments with 100 undergraduates investigated effects of delay of feedback on immediate and delayed transfer tasks involving different pattern recognition strategies. Delay of feedback resulted in greater retention of the concepts underlying construction of the different patterns in all transfer tasks. Results support the Kulhavy-Anderson…

Teachers must cultivate students' attention by offering the material in an interesting and captivating way. This article presents ways to "come alive" in front of a classroom, to know one's lines and vary them amusingly. Dramatizing techniques include animation (through body language and voice), space utilization, self-disclosure, humor,…

Describes the habits of human reasoning that distort designers' abilities to intuit how users will understand and respond to graphics. Advocates two solutions: investigating scientifically how visuals communicate to viewers, and using user-based iterative design to explore user's reactions while developing design prototypes. (SR)

Describes two surveys administered to library professionals holding leadership positions to develop a list of perceived library leaders. Topics discussed include social structure; the locus of leadership; integration of the library profession; the degree of shared perception; and questions raised by the research, including methodology. (32…

Infants who were in darkness were presented with objects that made sounds. Objects were within reach and out of reach. Infants reached into the target area more often when the object was in reach than when the object was beyond reach. Infants reached correctly in the dark for objects placed off midline. (BC)