Influence of aging on recovery from aphasia in polyglots

We analyzed patterns of recovery, according to the rules of Pitres [1895, Revue de Medecine (Paris), 15, 873–899] and Ribot (1881, Les Maladies de la Memoire, Paris: Libraire Germer Baillere et Cie, pp. 146–147), in polyglot aphasics divided into subgroups by age. The rule of Ribot did not apply predictably for any age group. Pitres' rule clearly applied, but only for the nonelderly groups. Aging and its concomitant deterioration of recent memory seem to influence patterns of recovery from aphasia in polyglots.     

A brief history of Russian aphasiology

This paper analyzes early Russian contributions to the study of aphasia, dated between 1789 and 1941. Different approaches to the problem of the organization and localization of verbal functions as well as to the understanding of mechanisms of aphasia and principles of aphasia rehabilitation are discussed. Comparisons with European and North American contributions and with contributions from later Russian writing (e.g., Luria's period) are presented to demonstrate their interconnections in shaping the course of Russian aphasiology.     

Language function and dysfunction among Chinese- and English-speaking polyglots: Cortical stimulation, Wada Testing, and clinical studies

Language functions in a group of Chinese- and English-speaking polyglots living in a multiracial society have been investigated by several methods: the effects of cortical stimulation on object-naming and reading tasks in patients who required awake craniotomy, lateralization of cerebral dominance for speech by the Wada Test, and the pattern of language loss and recovery following stroke. The data indicate that these polyglots were all left hemisphere dominant for the languages tested: no consistent evidence for increased participation by the right hemisphere for language functions was found. The cortical stimulation experiments provided data most compatible with the "differential localization" model of cerebral localization in bilingualism. The variable which most influenced performance in all of these investigations was which language was used primarily for speaking as well as reading and writing at the time of the study.     

同伴互动类型对三年级小学生写作水平的影响

研究通过对比同伴辅导、合作、协作等三种同伴互动写作方式与个体化写作教学干预前后,三年级学生独立写作水平的变化,了解同伴互动类型对初学者写作水平的影响.结果发现,和个体化写作相比,三种同伴互动写作方式均更有利于整体写作水平和"结构"维度写作水平的提高;但合作写作最为突出,不仅在各个维度都优于个体化写作,而且在"选材"维度上还优,于同伴辅导写作和协作写作.这说明,社会性互动有利于初学者写作水平的提高,且主要表现为提升记叙文的结构完整性和层次清楚性;但只有兼顾"个人责任"和"高平等性、相互性",社会性互动对写作的促进作用才能更加充分地发挥.     

小学四年级学生写作构思技能培养的实验研究

本研究运用心理模拟法创立了写作构思活动模式,并根据心智技能按阶段形成的理论对构思技能进行了分阶段培养。结果表明：①写作构思活动的实践模式可以有效地提高学生的写作构思技能水平,并能进而促进其写作水平的整体提高;②小学四年级学生在写作构思水平上不存在明显的性别差异,男女学生可以同等程度地接受构思技能的培训;③学生原有的写作技能水平和智力水平对于当前的写作活动有明显影响。     

Classwide Teacher Implementation of Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Writing with Students with E/BD in a Residential Facility

One promising intervention to support the writing skills of students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders is self-regulated strategy development (SRSD). The purpose of this study was to extend this line of inquiry to a residential setting with teachers serving as interventionists and determine the effects of the SRSD using the STOP and DARE mnemonic for persuasive writing on the writing performance (Correct Word Sequences, Essay Elements, and Essay Quality), and academic engagement of secondary students. In addition, this study extended this line of inquiry by looking at implementation of the intervention only 2 days per week, a lower treatment intensity than previous research has used to find statistically significant gains in writing. Results of a piecewise hierarchical linear model suggest statistically significant gains were made over the course of the intervention in writing and academic engagement when compared to baseline. In addition, student variables such as writing achievement, externalizing/internalizing behavior patterns, age, and attendance predicted writing and engagement. Results of generalization, fidelity, and social validity also are reported.     

绿、白两种颜色书写纸对学生心理影响的对比研究

本研究试图探明绿色书写纸与传统的白色书写纸对学生书写时心理影响的差异。研究采用自编问卷调查学生分别在绿、白两种颜色的书写纸上书写时的心理体验,又运用警戒仪探查绿、白两种颜色书写纸对学生注意力保持的影响。结果表明：与白色书写纸相比,绿色书写纸更能引起学生正向、积极的心理体验,更利于注意力的保持。     

部件特征和正字法意识在儿童汉字书写发展中的作用

研究以北京地区262名汉语儿童为研究对象,探讨了部件复杂程度和部件数量对儿童延迟抄写成绩的影响,并通过一年的追踪,考察了儿童书写加工基本单位及其发展变化历程,并分析了儿童的正字法意识对其书写能力发展的预测作用。实验一发现汉语儿童的书写单位是一个从笔画到部件的多水平发展过程,在控制整字笔画的情况下,对于部件复杂的汉字,以笔画为单位进行编码,错误类型以笔画乱写和部件错误为主,而对于由简单部件组成的汉字,主要以部件为单位进行组块,儿童多犯部件替换的错误。实验二发现在部件复杂程度相同的情况下,汉字所包含的部件数量越多,儿童的书写正确率越低,多犯部件缺失和部件替换的错误。实验三发现儿童一年级的正字法意识能够显著预测当年及一年后的书写成绩,表明正字法意识对于儿童的书写发展具有重要作用。     

The Effects of Text Structure Discrimination Training on the Writing Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine whether teaching three participants with learning disabilities to name and identify critical components (i.e., opening sentence, detail sentences, and key words) for four expository text structures, and to discriminate between well-written and poorly written components would improve their expository writing performance. After instruction, one participant immediately improved her expository paragraph writing skills. However, two participants needed additional instruction and feedback on their writing before their paragraph writing improved. Social validation of the study outcomes was assessed by comparing participants' paragraphs before and after instruction to paragraphs produced by same age peers without disabilities. After instruction, participants' paragraph scores were above the mean score of the normative comparison group. Implications for teaching writing skills to students with learning disabilities, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

小学六年级学生写作构思策略培养的实验研究

本研究运用心理模拟法创立了写作构思活动模式,并根据心智技能按阶段形成的理论对构思策略进行了分阶段培养。结果表明:①写作构思活动的实践模式可以有效地提高学生的写作构思策略水平,并进而促进其写作技能整体水平的提高;②小学六年级学生在写作技能上不存在明显的性别差异,智力水平对写作技能也没有明显影响;③学生原有的写作技能水平对于当前的写作活动有显著影响,教师在教学前应设法了解学生的写作水平。     

Writing hand position, birth stress, and familial factors

The incidence of birth stress was found to be slightly lower in individuals writing with an inverted hand position than in those writing with a normal position, a result in the opposite direction to that reported by Searleman, Porac, and Coren (1982). A familial study suggested that an inverted writing hand position was primarily related to maternal (but not paternal) writing hand position, suggesting a modeling or imitative origin, rather than a genetic basis for writing position.     

Athletes' experiences of expressive writing about sports stressors

ObjectivesThis study explored athletes' experiences of expressive writing about competitive sport stressors using standard expressive writing and reversal theory framed writing (Apter, 2001).DesignThe study employed a qualitative approach including narrative analysis of expressive writing and semi-structured interviews with athletes.MethodSixteen athletes were randomly allocated to a standard expressive writing or a reversal theory framed writing group. Both groups completed expressive writing about a stressor using standardised instructions. The reversal theory writing group were instructed on reversal theory states and imagery use to recreate them which they employed to write from different state perspectives in four subsequent sessions. Standard writing group participants completed four sessions following usual expressive writing instructions. Both groups completed a final session following these instructions and were interviewed about expressive writing and their perceptions of the stressor.ResultsKey outcomes were: re-evaluation and perspective changes, self development, stressor confrontation, problem solving, emotion management and, future uses of expressive writing.ConclusionsExpressive writing may be a technique that is useful for some athletes and recommendations for its application are made.     

The effect of repeated writing on memory

Repeated writing, or rehearsal by writing, is a common memory strategy for the Japanese, especially when learning new logographic characters. The to-be-remembered items are written down not as external prompts, as with reminder notes, but to be memorized in the course of writing them down over and over again. In this study, we investigated whether the strategy was effective, and if so, in which condition. Experiment 1 showed that repeated writing improved memory for graphic designs but not for Chinese characters, words, or syllables. Experiment 2 showed that the effect occurred for both Japanese and American subjects, suggesting that it was not the result of a cultural background associated with a logographic language. Instead, the effect seemed to be accounted for by the encoding specificity of visual-motor information, because repeated writing improved free recall— that included writing—but did not improve recognition (Experiment 3). In Experiment 4, the strategy was applied to learning the Arabic alphabet. Finally, similarities between repeated writing and     

Expressive writing disorders: an analysis of theoretical views

Three prominent theories of writing were found in a literature review of Psychlit, educational journals and Medline, and a fourth global theory relating writing to intact cerebral integrity was also hypothesized. These theories were then tested by attempting to predict writing scores among a sample of 44 individuals with academic difficulties. Significant support was found for a memory and attention model, the dysgraphia model, and an abstract sequential analysis model. Surprisingly, measures of the overall cortical integrity were not significantly related to writing behavior in this sample, but this finding may reflect excluding brain damaged subjects in this study. Also, the abstract sequential analysis model appeared to function differently than expected. The results indicate it is important to assess the cognitive contributions of writing difficulties to guide remediation. Larger scale research on the sources of writing disorders is also recommended.     

Handwriting or Typewriting? The Influence of Pen- or Keyboard-Based Writing Training on Reading and Writing Performance in Preschool Children

Digital writing devices associated with the use of computers, tablet PCs, or mobile phones are increasingly replacing writing by hand. It is, however, controversially discussed how writing modes influence reading and writing performance in children at the start of literacy. On the one hand, the easiness of typing on digital devices may accelerate reading and writing in young children, who have less developed sensory-motor skills. On the other hand, the meaningful coupling between action and perception during handwriting, which establishes sensory-motor memory traces, could facilitate written language acquisition. In order to decide between these theoretical alternatives, for the present study, we developed an intense training program for preschool children attending the German kindergarten with 16 training sessions. Using closely matched letter learning games, eight letters of the German alphabet were trained either by handwriting with a pen on a sheet of paper or by typing on a computer keyboard. Letter recognition, naming, and writing performance as well as word reading and writing performance were assessed. Results did not indicate a superiority of typing training over handwriting training in any of these tasks. In contrast, handwriting training was superior to typing training in word writing, and, as a tendency, in word reading. The results of our study, therefore, support theories of action-perception coupling assuming a facilitatory influence of sensory-motor representations established during handwriting on reading and writing.     

Emotional expression in cyberspace: searching for moderators of the Pennebaker disclosure effect via e-mail.

Research has shown that writing about emotional topics can positively influence physical and mental health. The current study tested the efficacy of an e-mail-based writing treatment and shows how such an implementation can aid in the search for moderators. Participants (N = 546) were randomly assigned to either a long- or short-interval traumatic writing condition or to a nonemotional writing control condition. In contrast to previous disclosure research, participants received and submitted their writing responses via e-mail. Health outcomes were assessed weekly for 5 weeks after treatment and were reported at the conclusion of the study. Results supported the effectiveness of an e-mail-based writing treatment in producing positive health outcomes and successfully identified several moderators of the writing treatment effect. The moderators implicated varied depending on the nature of the health outcome assessment.     

Diagnosing children's writing disabilities: different tests give different results

Writing problems are common in children with clinical disorders. However, there are significant intra-individual differences between the ability to spell words, construct sentences, and compose text. Therefore, achievement tests measuring different writing skills may not be consistent in identifying children who have these various writing disabilities. Our study compared scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Written Language subtests (which measure the ability to produce single words and single sentences) with scores on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Written Expression subtest (which assesses compositional writing skills) in 54 children referred by their teachers to a school psychologist for writing problems. The Woodcock-Johnson only identified 35% of children as having significant writing problems, whereas the Wechsler test identified 78%. Our study suggests that the latter is more likely than the Woodcock-Johnson to identify students who have problems in compositional writing.     

Is writing affected by spelling performance and beliefs about spelling?

This study examined relations between self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs and spelling and writing performance. Perceptions about spelling and writing were assessed in 258 collegeage participants. Spelling performance was measured through a 50-item spelling test and writing performance by a holistically scored writing sample. The most highly correlated variables included spelling outcome expectancy and writing outcome expectancy, spelling selfefficacy and writing self-efficacy, spelling performance and spelling self-efficacy, and spelling and writing performance. A causal model relating perceptions, spelling performance, and writing performance was proposed and its appropriateness estimated. Direct effects on spelling were found for spelling self-efficacy, while spelling self-efficacy had indirect effects on writing performance and spelling had a direct effect on writing performance. The causal model was discussed in terms of changing conceptions of writing instruction and traditional views of the role of spelling as a necessary component of good writing.     

小学生写作能力测验的编制报告

本研究立足于小学写作教学实践需要,以写作能力结构、写作教学大纲及写作能力各因素的操作性定义为理论基础,在教育测量与评价的基本原理指导下,编制小学生写作能力的客观测验。经过初稿、反复地个别测试、预试,并对测验的科学性进行检验,结果表明该测验的难度适中、项目区分性好、具有很好的信度和效度。本测验对于小学生写作能力的客观评价及探讨小学生写作能力的发展特点是一个很好的工具。     

Does the Use of Connective Words in Written Assessments Predict High School Students’ Reading and Writing Achievement?

This study examined the relationship between ninth-grade students’ use of connectives (temporal, causal, adversative, and additive) in functional writing and performance on standards-based/criterion-referenced measures of reading and writing. Specifically, structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were used to examine the relationship between students’ use of connectives in their functional writing and their reading and writing proficiency. Results indicated that the number of connectives used in functional writing was significantly correlated to writing test scores and reading comprehension test scores, no matter whether the effect of the common predictor was removed or not. The results provide support for future research in the study of connective words in relation to functional writing skills and reading comprehension.