Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “READING”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

Effect of the number of peak expiratory flow readings per day on the estimation of diurnal variation.

BACKGROUND: The number of peak expiratory flow (PEF) readings required per day to assess diurnal variation accurately is not known; published studies have used between two and seven PEF readings per day. This study compares the diurnal variation calculated using 2-10 PEF readings per day. METHODS: All days with 10 readings were selected from a database of PEF records. For each day, diurnal variations calculated using 2-9 of the readings available were compared with that calculated using the full 10 PEF readings. Diurnal variation calculated using all 10 readings was taken as the true diurnal variation. When less than 10 readings were used the readings were evenly spaced over waking hours. Diurnal variation was calculated as maximum--minimum/predicted. RESULTS: Two hundred and 25 days with 10 readings per day were selected from PEF records provided by 63 individuals. When only two PEF readings per day were used, the limits of agreement suggested a possible underestimate of true diurnal variation, calculated using all 10 readings, of 1.23-15.10%. The possible underestimate fell to 0.27-3.96% when calculated using four evenly spaced readings. Analysis of the timing of the highest PEF reading of the day was undertaken for rest and work days. This showed a mean (SD) timing of 13:56 (4:56 hours) for rest days and 11:47 (5:59 hours) for work days. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically significant underestimates of true diurnal variation may be seen when only small numbers of PEF readings per day are used in its calculation. At and above four readings the results suggest that the underestimate becomes increasingly insignificant in terms of the diagnosis and treatment of asthma. Analysis of the timing of the highest PEF reading of the day showed a wide variation, precluding the ability to capture the true diurnal variation with just two or three carefully timed PEF readings per day. The authors suggests that at least four readings per day should be performed, evenly spaced during waking hours, to obtain an accurate assessment of diurnal variation in PEF.

Adolescent↗

Reading performance in patients with retinitis pigmentosa: a study using the MNREAD charts.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between reading performance and severity of disease in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), assessed with routine clinical psychophysical visual tests. METHODS: Seventy-six consecutive patients with RP (145 eyes), with reading acuity of at least 1.6 logMAR (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) in at least one eye, were examined. Each patient underwent a complete ophthalmic evaluation, including visual acuity (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] charts), contrast sensitivity (Pelli-Robson charts), visual field perimetry (Humphrey central 30-2 full-threshold program; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA), and a test of reading acuity, critical print size, and maximum reading speed (Minnesota Reading charts [MNREAD]). RESULTS: Reading acuity was 1.0 logMAR or more in the better eye of all but six (92%) patients. Maximum reading speed was better than 100 words per minute in the better eye of 59 (78%) subjects. Moderate to severe reading impairment, defined as reading acuity of 0.4 logMAR or worse, was observed in the better eye of 47 (62%) patients. EDTRS visual acuity of 0.3 logMAR (20/40) or worse was 89% sensitive and 66% specific when used as a criterion to define reading impairment. Contrast sensitivity and visual acuity correlated significantly with all three reading components, whereas mean light sensitivity in the central visual field (6 degrees ) demonstrated a higher correlation with maximum reading speed. The number of years elapsed since the diagnosis of RP was a strong negative predictor of reading performance when clinical visual tests were taken into account, whereas a better reading ability characterized the patients with RP who had a higher level of education. A reduced reading speed with larger print size was found in 30 eyes (21%). This correlated with central light sensitivity, as it was more common among eyes with a mean sensitivity of <10 dB. CONCLUSIONS: The reading performance of most patients with RP is only moderately impaired. It correlates with contrast sensitivity, visual acuity, and visual field. It should be assessed in all cases, as disability can ensue, even when visual acuity is preserved. In patients with RP with poor reading performance, there is little potential for high-magnification devices because visual field constriction affects the reading rate.

Adolescent↗

Mammography screening: an incremental cost effectiveness analysis of double versus single reading of mammograms.

OBJECTIVE: To compare mammography reading by one radiologist with independent reading by two radiologists. DESIGN: An observational non-randomised trial at St Margaret's Hospital, Epping. SUBJECTS: 33 734 consecutive attenders for breast screening in the main trial and a sample of 132 attenders for assessment who provided data on private costs. INTERVENTIONS: Three reporting policies were compared: single reading, consensus double reading, and non-consensus double reading. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Numbers of cancers detected, recall rates, screening and assessment costs, and cost effectiveness ratios. RESULTS: A policy of double reading followed by consensus detected an additional nine cancers per 10 000 women screened (95% confidence interval 5 to 13) compared with single reading. A non-consensus double reading policy detected an additional 10 cancers per 10 000 women screened (95% confidence interval 6 to 14). The difference in numbers of cancers detected between the consensus and non-consensus double reading policies was not significant (95% confidence interval -0.2 to 2.2). The proportion of women recalled for assessment after consensus double reading was significantly lower than after single reading (difference 2.7%; 95% confidence interval 2.4% to 3.0%). The recall rate with the non-consensus policy was significantly higher than with single reading (difference 3.0%; 2.5% to 3.5%). Consensus double reading cost less than single reading (saving 4853 pounds per 10 000 women screened). Non-consensus double reading cost more than single reading (difference 19 259 pounds per 10 000 women screened). CONCLUSIONS: In the screening unit studied a consensus double reading policy was more effective and less costly than a single reading policy.

Breast Neoplasms↗

The development of reading: as you seek so shall you find.

In this paper we critically examine different methods of investigation of reading development and reading disability. We argue that there is need for longitudinal studies of reading where a differential design allows assessment of the relative degree of involvement of associated skills. We then describe one study of this type. The results chart the development of children who become skilled readers and of those with generalized or specific reading disability. They also demonstrate the crucial effects of decisions regarding subject matching, test design, and measurement of differential abilities on the outcomes of such investigations. A cohort of 40 children was assessed for their abilities on 44 variables which involved reading, spelling, vocabulary, short-term memory (STM), visual skills, auditory-visual integration, language knowledge, rote knowledge and ordering ability as they developed from five to eight years old. Three groups were extracted at age eight on the basis of reading and IQ scores. Group A showed a relatively specific reading disability (high IQ, low reading), Group B were good readers of similarly high IQ, Group C showed a more generalized reading deficit whereby they were at the same level as Group A in reading but their IQ scores were low. The data were then searched retrospectively to describe the development of these patterns of ability from the very beginnings of reading acquisition. The children with specific reading retardation differed from their better-reading peers in terms of relatively few variables which concerned phonological segmentation, STM and naming. The children with generalized reading disability differed from their better-reading peers in almost every respect, but the strong discriminators concerned phonological processing. The children with specific reading disability differed from those with generalized reading disability in terms of abilities which involve visual processing. These patterns of ability were replicated at each age from five to seven years old.

Achievement↗

The relationship of phonemic awareness to reading acquisition: more consequence than precondition but still important.

Three studies examined the presence of phonemic awareness among Austrian children before reading instruction and its relationship to concurrent and later reading. These children were about 6-7 years of age but in the majority of cases unable to read when they entered school. Testing phonemic awareness with a newly developed, rather simple and natural vowel substitution task revealed that many children showed not a single correct response or little success. In contrast, the few readers at the beginning of grade one exhibited high phonemic awareness and after a few months of reading instruction most of the children scored at least close to perfect in the vowel substitution task. Despite this apparent effect of reading on phonemic awareness there was a specific predictive relationship between initial phonemic awareness differences and success in learning to read and to spell. In agreement with other studies it was found that phonemic awareness differences before instruction predicted the accuracy of alphabetic reading and spelling at the end of grade one independent from IQ and initial differences in letter knowledge and reading. However, closer examination of the relationship between phonemic awareness before instruction and later success in learning to read revealed a specific pattern. Children with high phonemic awareness at the beginning of grade one showed uniformly high reading and spelling achievement at the end of grade one. Such good progress in learning to read and to spell was also evident in the majority of children who showed no phonemic awareness at the beginning of reading instruction, but some of the many children with low phonemic awareness before instruction experienced difficulties in learning to read and to spell. This specific pattern suggests that individual differences in the ease or difficulty with which phonemic awareness can be induced by preschool experiences or by reading instruction is the critical variable underlying the observed correlations between phonemic awareness measures before reading instruction and progress in learning to read.

Attention↗

Reading performance with a refractive multifocal and a diffractive bifocal intraocular lens.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the reading performance of a diffractive bifocal (811E, Pharmacia) and a refractive multifocal (SA40N, Allergan) intraocular lens (IOL) and compare it with that of a monofocal IOL (811C, Pharmacia) with respect to reading acuity, reading speed based on print size, maximum reading speed, reading distance, and critical print size. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. METHODS: This study comprised 120 pseudophakic eyes of 70 patients; each IOL group had 40 eyes. The patients' age, sex, and best corrected logMAR visual acuity were recorded. Reading acuity and speed were tested monocularly. Reading acuity was determined in logRAD (ie, the reading equivalent of logMAR). Patients with bifocal and multifocal IOLs read with best distance correction and patients with a monofocal IOL, with an addition of +3.0 diopters. RESULTS: The age, mean spherical equivalent, cylinder, and best corrected distance visual acuity were comparable among the 3 groups. The mean logRAD reading acuity was 0.17 +/- 0.18 (SD) in the 811E group (94.0% of logMAR), 0.31 +/- 0.13 in the SA40N group (73.2% of logMAR), and 0.24 +/- 0.22 in the 811C group (94.1% of logMAR). The reading acuity in the SA40N group was statistically significantly lower than in the 811E and 811C groups. The best reading distance was 30 cm in the 811E group and 40 cm in the SA40N group. The mean maximum reading speeds in words per minute were comparable: 187.5 +/- 26.1 (811E), 171.0 +/- 21.1 (SA40N), and 179.4 +/- 21.6 (811C). The reading speed, which ranged from logRAD 0.7 to 0.3, and the critical print size in the SA40N group were significantly worse than in the 811E and 811C groups. The mean critical print size in the 811E group was significantly worse than in the 811C group. CONCLUSIONS: Reading performance was acceptable in the bifocal and multifocal IOL patients, with the diffractive bifocal IOL performing best in a standardized reading test setting.

Aged↗

The effect of consanguineous marriage on reading disability in the Arab community.

The present study examined the effect of consanguineous marriage in the Arab community on reading disabilities of offspring. It examined whether the rate of reading disabilities was higher among offspring of first-cousin parents than offspring of unrelated parents; and whether reading-disabled children of first-cousin parents were more disabled in phonological awareness and phonological decoding than reading-disabled children of unrelated parents and normally reading younger children. These questions were investigated among 814 pupils of the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, using word recognition and reading comprehension tests. Two experimental groups were chosen from this population. These were a reading-disabled group of 22 pupils who were children of first-cousin marriages and 21 pupils who were children of unrelated parents. A control group was also selected, consisting of 21 younger normally reading pupils at the same reading level. All the groups were tested on non-words, real words, phonological, orthographic and working memory measures. The results indicated that the rate of reading disabilities among children of first-cousin parents was higher than that of with children of second-cousin parents, distantly related parents, or unrelated parents. Further, no differences were found in phonological awareness and decoding between the two reading-disabled groups. Moreover, the results indicate a significant advantage of the younger normal readers over the reading-disabled children in the measures of phonological awareness, decoding, and orthographical knowledge that requires spelling. However, in reading common words and choosing words in context, the performance of the reading-disabled groups and the normally reading group were similar. It has been suggested that further research is needed to evaluate the role of intelligence, nevertheless our results provide new evidence for a genetic basis to reading disabilities.

Arabs↗

Comparison of standard reading and computer aided diagnosis (CAD) on a proficiency test of screening mammography.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of computer aided diagnosis (CAD) to improve screening mammograms interpretation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six radiologists underwent a screening mammography proficiency test first by conventional, then by CAD assisted reading. Sensitivity and recall rate at conventional and CAD reading were compared. Independent conventional double reading was simulated (15 pair combinations) and compared to single CAD reading. RESULTS: CAD marked 31 of 32 cancers (case-based sensitivity=96.8%). On a film and lesion basis, CAD identified 31 of 32 (96.8%) malignant calcifications and 29 of 42 (69.0%) malignant opacities, the only cancer not identified by CAD being depicted as an isolated opacity. CAD marked 348 areas (153 microcalcifications and 195 opacities) in 88 of 108 non cancer cases, with a case-based specificity of 18.5% (20/108). Considering all six readings, cancer was identified in 164 or 174 of 192 readings (85.4 vs 90.6%, c2 2.03, df=1, p=0.15) and recalls of non-cancer cases were 108 or 159 of 648 readings (16.6 vs 24.5%, c2 11.7, df=1, p<0.001) at conventional or CAD reading, respectively. CAD reading (average of 6 readings, 192 cancer, 648 non-cancer readings) was slightly, non significantly less sensitive (sensitivity 90.6 vs 92.9%, c2 0.73, df=1, p=0.39) and slightly, but not significantly more specific (recall rate 24.5 vs 26.1%, c2 0.56, df=1, p=0.45) as compared to simulated independent double reading (average of 15 combinations, 480 cancer, 1620 non-cancer readings). CONCLUSION: CAD seems to allow for a limited absolute increase (+5.2%) in sensitivity and for a limited absolute increase (+7.9%) in recall rate, the latter difference only reaching statistical significance. CAD reading showed no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy as compared to conventional (simulated) double reading, although further studies are needed to confirm it as possible alternative to double reading in the current screening practice.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Influence of laser in situ keratomileusis and laser epithelial keratectomy on patients' reading performance.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the influence of laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK) on reading performance regarding reading acuity, reading speed based on print size, maximum reading speed, and critical print size. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna, Vienna, and Auge-und-Laser, Medicent Baden, Austria. METHODS: Fifty-two eyes of 34 patients (26 eyes per group) were studied. Best corrected LogMAR visual acuity (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts), reading acuity, and reading speed were tested monocularly before LASIK or LASEK and 3 weeks after surgery. Reading acuity (LogRAD) and reading speed were determined with the standardized Radner reading charts. RESULTS: Preoperatively, the distance visual acuity and reading acuity were comparable between the LASIK and LASEK patients. Reading speed measurements also showed no statistical difference. Three weeks after refractive surgery, no statistically significant differences in the preoperative measures and between the 2 surgical procedures could be found in any tested parameters. The mean distance visual acuity was LogMAR -0.02 +/- 0.06 (SD) (LASIK) and LogMAR -0.05 +/- 0.07 (LASEK). The mean reading acuity was LogRAD 0.00 +/- 0.12 (97.7% of LogMAR) (LASIK) and LogRAD 0.04 +/- 0.16 (93.7% of LogMAR) (LASEK). The mean maximum reading speed was 235 +/- 35 words per minute (LASIK) and 240 +/- 37 words per minute (LASEK), and the mean critical print size was at LogRAD 0.48 +/- 0.19 (LASIK) and 0.49 +/- 0.17 (LASEK). CONCLUSIONS: In a standardized reading test setting, no significant effects of LASIK and LASEK on individual reading performance could be evaluated. This indicates that patients can expect to retain their normal visual function after refractive surgery with these 2 procedures under full light conditions.

Adult↗

Reading skills of dietetic interns and readability of dietetics literature.

OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare reading skills of dietetic interns with reading levels of internship references. DESIGN: A standardized reading test, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, measured reading skills of entering dietetic interns over 7 years. A computerized readability program assessed the readability of references. SETTING: Dietetic internships in university and Veterans Affairs hospitals. SUBJECTS: Of 194 entering interns, 178 (92%) were included and 16 (89%) were omitted. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nelson-Denny percentile and grade equivalent scores for vocabulary, comprehension, and total. The Fog Index identified reference reading-grade levels. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Interns from the two programs did not differ significantly on Nelson-Denny Reading Test scores or in application grade point average. Percentile means and standard deviations were 54.7 +/- 23.8 for vocabulary, 51.2 +/- 25.0 for comprehension, 52.9 +/- 23.9 for total, and 41.6 +/- 24.7 for reading rate. Nearly 20% (33 of 178) of interns read significantly below expected grade level. The fog Index assigned reference grade levels from 6.98 to 21.63 years. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of dietetic interns have strong reading skills and read within the references' reading levels. A minority may experience difficulties reading assignments. Preinternship reading skills assessment could lead to greater success in reading professional literature.

Adult↗

Reading with a head-mounted video magnifier.

PURPOSE: This study compared the effectiveness of a head-mounted video magnifier, low-vision enhancement system (LVES), with closed-circuit TV (CCTV) and large print as a device or means of improving reading performance in people with low vision. METHODS: The reading performance of ten low-vision participants was assessed in two ways: (1) By measuring reading speed as a function of print size with LVES and without LVES, and (2) by comparing reading speed and comprehension of news articles using the LVES vs. a popular non-head-mounted video magnifier, the CCTV. RESULTS: Maximum reading speeds with LVES matched the maximum reading speeds with unaided vision attained by enlarging print. The critical print size (the smallest print size that could be read at maximum reading speed) improved significantly for all participants using LVES compared with unaided vision. When comparing reading performance using LVES and CCTV, we found that reading speed and comprehension for the two conditions were equivalent. The two low-vision participants with lowest acuities (20/640 and 20/960) could not read the 10-point newspaper articles with LVES, even with an 8 D auxiliary reading lens that permitted a very close reading distance. CONCLUSIONS: Head-mounted video magnifiers, such as LVES, can support good low-vision reading performance, but the restricted range of magnification may limit the usefulness of the device as a reading magnifier for people with very low acuity.

Adult↗

Absence seizures effects on reading revealed by video-electroencephalography.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of absence seizures on reading have not been studied. The purpose of this paper is to show some alterations in reading during absence seizures in patients with video-electroencephalographic recordings. METHODS: Patients were selected if absences seizures were the only type of seizures. They were studied at rest with eyes closed and while reading aloud a text by simultaneous bipolar electroencephalographic and video recordings. RESULTS: Eight patients were studied with 34 events. Absences ranged from 1-12 events in twenty-five minutes recording, seizures duration ranged from 1.5-16 seconds. Brief seizures results on non-stop reading, but reading arrest with latency of 1-3 seconds after seizure onset were present in the longer events. Post-absence amnesia ranged from 1-4.5 seconds. Re-start reading occurs mainly in other reading place in the text, but two patients in one event re-started reading in the right place. Classic symptoms during absence were present and reading alterations found were: reading arrest, lost of reading point, bradylexia, dysprosodic reading, grapheme substitution, reading loudness reduction, repeating of phrases. Events occurred without patient seizure awareness, except in one patient by means of the time lost between onset to the end of the event. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that acute reading alterations during absence seizures are frequent in longer seizures, producing many neuropsychological symptoms that alter reading without seizure awareness.

Adolescent↗

Intra-operative mapping of cortical areas involved in reading in mono- and bilingual patients.

In order to identify the cortical areas involved in the reading process and to spare them during surgery, we systematically studied cortical areas by direct cortical stimulation in patients operated on for brain tumours. Seventy-six cortical stimulation mapping studies for language were performed in 35 monolingual and 19 bi- or multilingual patients over a 5-year period. We systematically searched for reading interference areas in addition to standard naming areas using an 'awake surgery' technique for brain mapping. A 'reading aloud' task (translated into different languages in multilingual patients) was used. Brain mapping was performed in left (44 patients) and right (10 patients) hemispheres. Cortical areas involved in reading were identified according to the type of interference, location and distinctness from naming areas. Stimulation of several major hemispheric regions resulted in significant interference with reading aloud: (i) the lower part of the pre- and postcentral gyri (P < 0.00001); (ii) the dominant supramarginal, angular and the posterior part of the superior temporal gyri (P < 0.00001); (iii) in the dominant inferior and middle frontal gyri (P < 0.001); and (iv) in the posterior part of the dominant middle temporal gyrus (P < 0.05). Interferences in reading were generally found in small cortical areas, with intervening areas evoking no reading interferences. Only partial overlap between reading and naming sites was found. Reading-specific sites were preferentially found when stimulating dominant inferior parietal or posterior temporal areas. Different types of reading interferences were noted. While 'articulatory' interferences were found in pre- and postcentral gyri bilaterally, and ocular-induced movements in bilateral middle frontal gyri, paraphasias were found mainly in the dominant supramarginal and posterior superior temporal gyri. Reading arrest sites were found in many regions. Reading interference sites were also occasionally found in the non-dominant hemisphere. In bilingual patients, if common cortical areas could be found, language- and reading-specific areas were sometimes detected, lending support to the concept that bilinguals can have relatively distinct cortical representation of their language skills. Finally, in this series, the location of reading interference sites and their relative specialization showed considerable individual variability.

Adolescent↗

Reading speed benefits from increased vertical word spacing in normal peripheral vision.

PURPOSE: Crowding, the adverse spatial interaction due to proximity of adjacent targets, has been suggested as an explanation for slow reading in peripheral vision. The purposes of this study were to (1) demonstrate that crowding exists at the word level and (2) examine whether or not reading speed in central and peripheral vision can be enhanced with increased vertical word spacing. METHODS: Five normal observers read aloud sequences of six unrelated four-letter words presented on a computer monitor, one word at a time, using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). Reading speeds were calculated based on the RSVP exposure durations yielding 80% correct. Testing was conducted at the fovea and at 5 degrees and 10 degrees in the inferior visual field. Critical print size (CPS) for each observer and at each eccentricity was first determined by measuring reading speeds for four print sizes using unflanked words. We then presented words at 0.8x or 1.4x CPS, with each target word flanked by two other words, one above and one below the target word. Reading speeds were determined for vertical word spacings (baseline-to-baseline separation between two vertically separated words) ranging from 0.8x to 2x the standard single-spacing, as well as the unflanked condition. RESULTS: At the fovea, reading speed increased with vertical word spacing up to about 1.2x to 1.5x the standard spacing and remained constant and similar to the unflanked reading speed at larger vertical word spacings. In the periphery, reading speed also increased with vertical word spacing, but it remained below the unflanked reading speed for all spacings tested. At 2x the standard spacing, peripheral reading speed was still about 25% lower than the unflanked reading speed for both eccentricities and print sizes. Results from a control experiment showed that the greater reliance of peripheral reading speed on vertical word spacing was also found in the right visual field. CONCLUSIONS: Increased vertical word spacing, which presumably decreases the adverse effect of crowding between adjacent lines of text, benefits reading speed. This benefit is greater in peripheral than central vision.

Adolescent↗

The role of scaffolding errors in reading development: evidence from a longitudinal and a correlational study.

BACKGROUND: Identification of patterns of early reading behaviour that predict later reading success is clearly important. Reading errors of 6-year-olds represent a source of such early assessment information, but their significance as predictors of later reading is unknown. AIMS: The relationship between word reading errors at age 6 and accurate word reading at age 8 is investigated here. SAMPLES, METHODS, RESULTS: In study 1, 44 children completed word reading tests at 6 and 8 years. 'Scaffolding errors' preserving both initial and final phonemes (e.g., 'bark' misread as 'bank'); errors preserving either initial or final phonemes (e.g., 'bark' misread as 'bed' or 'like'); distant or unrelated errors (e.g., 'bark' misread as 'can' or 'men') and non-responses were measured at age 6. Scaffolding errors were the best predictors of word reading at age 8. Study 2 investigated the correlations between word and nonsense word reading, and scaffolding errors in 30 children aged 6 years. Scaffolding errors predicted unique variance in word reading after nonword reading was entered. CONCLUSIONS: Scaffolding errors represent a significant qualitative indicator of later word reading success. Implications of findings for early identification of reading difficulties, and facilitating reading interventions are discussed.

Child↗

Assessment matters: issues in the measurement of reading comprehension.

BACKGROUND: The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (NARA; Neale, 1997) is a widely used assessment of reading comprehension and word reading accuracy. Spooner, Baddeley, and Gathercole (2004) questioned the suitability of the NARA for identifying children with specific reading comprehension deficits. Aims and methods. An evaluation of the NARA measurement of word reading and reading comprehension level was undertaken in relation to models of reading ability. Appropriate control measures were considered. The strengths and weaknesses of different forms of reading comprehension were also evaluated. RESULTS: Previous research into reading comprehension difficulties using the NARA has adopted satisfactory control measures in relation to word reading ability. There are limitations associated with all the considered forms of reading comprehension assessment. CONCLUSIONS: If administered and interpreted appropriately, the NARA is an effective instrument for researchers and practitioners who need to assess both word reading accuracy and reading comprehension and to identify children with a dissociation between these two aspects of reading.

Child↗

Reading fields of magnifying loupes.

For the purpose of understanding the influence of the use of magnifying loupes on the reading process, the reading field is a relevant concept. Three possible reading fields are distinguished: the monocular reading field, the binocular reading field, and the composite reading field. Theoretical expressions for the widths of reading fields are derived as a function of the physical parameters of the loupe and the geometry of the reading situation. Variation of reading-field width as a function of magnification is illustrated. For verification, experimentally determined reading-field widths were compared with the theoretical ones. There were small systematic deviations, probably caused by achromatic aberrations. In order to learn about the strategies that subjects use when reading with the aid of a loupe, loupe displacement was measured while subjects read text under conditions that provided a variety of reading-field widths. It was found that individual subjects use different strategies (i.e., they use different reading-field widths).

Fovea Centralis↗

The reading habits of family practice residents.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the reading habits of family practice residents. This study describes the reading practices of family practice residents, including how much time they spend reading and what information sources they use, identifies factors that may be used by educators to stimulate resident reading, and identifies factors that may inhibit or discourage reading. METHODS: A questionnaire about reading habits was mailed to 613 randomly selected resident members of the American Academy of Family Physicians in March 1994. RESULTS: Of 613 questionnaires sent, 314 (51%) were completed and returned. Participants reported reading an average of 3.7 hours per week and were most often motivated to read to obtain information related to clinical cases or to prepare for an upcoming presentation. Pocket manuals were the most frequently read and original scientific research the least frequently read sources of medical information. Fatigue and family responsibilities were the factors most important in preventing reading. Year in residency, moonlighting hours, age, gender, or household size were not associated with reported reading time. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical cases and upcoming presentations may be the best motivators of resident reading. Training programs need to continue to develop strategies to minimize resident fatigue, which may lead to increased reading among trainees. The importance of original scientific research articles during residency training is unclear.

Adult↗