Discusses a preliminary study of the effect of ballot interface design on voting behavior. Finds significant problems related to human factors and the organization of information on the ballot on mechanical and electronic voting machines. (RS)

Debates whether a text claiming to have scientific value is using seduction irresponsibly at the expense of the truth, and discusses who is the subject and who is the object of such seduction. It argues that, rather than being an assault against scientific ethics, seduction is a necessary premise for a sensible conversation to take place. (GR)

Investigates text cues and comprehension strategies used by competent readers comprehending lengthy written arguments. Finds that both text structure and signaling in introductions and conclusions consistently influenced the 12th-grade advanced placement English students' responses. Notes that these cues helped students recognize the argument…

Describes a process of morpho-syntactic language analysis for information retrieval. Tree Structured Analytics (TSA) used for text representation is summarized; the matching process developed for such structures is outlined with an example appended; and experiments carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of TSA matching are discussed. (26…

Reviews models of reading performance as an organizing framework for understanding findings from empirical studies of text and reader factors. Reviews numerous empirical studies of text design and reader variables and their effects on comprehension. Aims to help readers understand this research and its implications in document design decisions.…

Compares the effectiveness of two approaches to decreasing user navigation problems in hypertext: providing maps, and constraining the hypertext structure. Finds that for learning details, linear formats should be retained; whereas for more global overall learning, a constrained structure is a good alternative. (SR)

Presents an activity used with ninth and tenth grade remedial readers which introduces the students to five patterns in writing that are common in textbooks: listing, sequence, cause-effect, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast. (PRA)

Presents a procedure to compose or evaluate structurally sound text, encompassing inclusiveness, exclusiveness, hierarchy, sequence, and language. Offers guidelines for making text structure visible to the reader with headings, format, signals, reminders, and effective paragraphing. (SR)

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…

Presents an instrument to observe students' quantitative literacy abilities. Discusses document strategy factors and quantitative factors contributing to task difficulty. (SR)

Discusses how changes in the technology of text, specifically a shift in the medium of presentation from paper to screen, will invariably trigger changes in the shape of the text. Utilizes a text analytical approach to identify nine dimensions of the key differences between paper and on-screen text. (HB)

Discusses issues of document organization, document length, and writing style for avoiding bureaucratese in writing government documents. (SR)

Examines cohesion in the introductions to some scientific articles and compares the patterns to those from popularizations. Discusses a computational model of cohesion. Argues that readers of scientific articles must have a knowledge of lexical relations to see the implicit cohesion, whereas readers of popularizations must see the cohesive…

Examines memory for visual narratives as a function of cinematic structure. Identifies two important principles (establishing shots and directional continuity) for restructuring real-world activities into coherent filmed sequences. (SR)

Examines how conceptions of the text, reader, author, and context are altered by postmodern theories of intertextuality (ITX), and what ITX itself has come to mean as articulated by this theorizing and research. The idea of deconstructing reading is described. (Contains 48 references.) (JP)