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This study investigates the effects of live and non-live reporting on recall and appreciation of political television news. A sample of 161 randomly selected adults participated in an experiment testing the effects of format difference (a live cross-talk between reporters vs a canned field report). Using an authentic experimental news bulletin produced in cooperation with the national Dutch public broadcaster, NOS, the findings did not support the hypothesis that the live cross-talk format enhances recall or appreciation. In fact, the results showed that the non-live field report format resulted in greater recall. These findings challenge the common newsroom assumption about ...

Dit artikel gaat over het spanningsveld tussen communicatie-adviezen en ontwerprichtlijn enenerzijds, en fundamenteel onderzoek naar schriftelijke communicatie anderzijds; meer specifiek gaat het over de relatie tussen leesonderzoek en tekstadviezen. Het spitst zich toe op de rol van explicitering van de tekststructuur in informerende teksten, en met name op relationele structuursignalen,die de coherentierelaties tussen de tekstdelen expliciet maken (connectieven en signaalwoorden of -zinnen). Daarover worden veel adviezen gegeven, zonder dat die duidelijk gefundeerd zijn. Een literatuuroverzicht en een bespreking van twee experimenten laten zien dat het theoretisch plausibel is dat signalen helpen bij het lezen, omdat ze de lezer instrueren bij ...

As adults get older, they face somatic (such a eyesight, hearing, motor control) and cognitive (such as information processing, memory, multitasking) restrictions. These restrictions also affect the reading and understanding of technical documentation. In a three-phase program, we investigated the documentation-related problems of seniors and developed solutions. Phase I: We read and discussed a chapter of a handbook for a mobile phone with older adults to find out where the problems were. Phase II: We reformulated and redesigned that chapter with another group of seniors. Phase III: We tested the final version against the original with yet another set of ...

Dit artikel gaat over het spanningsveld tussen communicatie-adviezen en ontwerprichtlijn enenerzijds, en fundamenteel onderzoek naar schriftelijke communicatie anderzijds; meer specifiek gaat het over de relatie tussen leesonderzoek en tekstadviezen. Het spitst zich toe op de rol van explicitering van de tekststructuur in informerende teksten, en met name op relationele structuursignalen,die de coherentierelaties tussen de tekstdelen expliciet maken (connectieven en signaalwoorden of -zinnen). Daarover worden veel adviezen gegeven, zonder dat die duidelijk gefundeerd zijn. Een literatuuroverzicht en een bespreking van twee experimenten laten zien dat het theoretisch plausibel is dat signalen helpen bij het lezen, omdat ze de lezer instrueren bij ...

When readers process a text, they establish a coherent representation by means of coherence relations. This article focuses on the cognitive status of these relations. In an experiment using reading, verification, and free recall tasks, 2 crucial aspects of the structure of expository texts were investigated: the type of coherence relation between segments (problem-solution vs. list) and the linguistic marking of the relations by means of signaling phrases (implicit vs. explicit). Both factors affected text processing. Problem solution relations lead to faster processing, better verification, and superior recall. Explicit marking of the relations resulted in faster processing but did not ...

New technologies enable flexible combinations of text and interactive or non-interactive pictures. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) whether adding pictures to texts is generally beneficial for learning or whether it can also have detrimental effects, (b) how interactivity of pictures affects learning, (c) whether the visualization format of pictures affects the structure of the learner’s mental model, and (d) whether the visualization format modifies the effects of interactivity. One hundred university students were randomly assigned to five groups. In four groups, a text about the different daytimes and days on the earth was combined with ...

Most research on graphic organizers (i.e., figural organizations of text information) has failed to simulate actual classroom learning. Typically, studies have used short, poorly organized text, single graphic organizers, and immediate tests measuring only factual knowledge. Also, there is no convincing evidence that graphic organizers are better than outlines. Two experiments were conducted that represented attempts to address these problems in answering the question, What types of text information do graphic organizers and outlines help college students learn? Results revealed that when given enough time, students studying graphic organizers learned more hierarchical and coordinate relations, and as a result, they ...

Most research on graphic organizers (i.e., figural organizations of text information) has failed to simulate actual classroom learning. Typically, studies have used short, poorly organized text, single graphic organizers, and immediate tests measuring only factual knowledge. Also, there is no convincing evidence that graphic organizers are better than outlines. Two experiments were conducted that represented attempts to address these problems in answering the question, What types of text information do graphic organizers and outlines help college students learn? Results revealed that when given enough time, students studying graphic organizers learned more hierarchical and coordinate relations, and as a result, they ...

Three experiments were performed to examine contrasting predictions of a dualrepresentation and context availability hypothesis for concreteness effects in lexical decision. In Experiment 1, equivalent lexical decision times were obtained for concrete and abstract words controlled for rated context availability, whereas longer lexical decision times were obtained for abstract words than for concrete words when the abstract words were rated lower in context availability. In a second lexical decision experiment using 365 words, rated context availability was a better predictor of lexical decision time than imagery and concreteness, familiarity, or age-of-acquisition ratings. The third experiment was a sentence context-lexical decision ...

Three experiments were performed to examine contrasting predictions of a dualrepresentation and context availability hypothesis for concreteness effects in lexical decision. In Experiment 1, equivalent lexical decision times were obtained for concrete and abstract words controlled for rated context availability, whereas longer lexical decision times were obtained for abstract words than for concrete words when the abstract words were rated lower in context availability. In a second lexical decision experiment using 365 words, rated context availability was a better predictor of lexical decision time than imagery and concreteness, familiarity, or age-of-acquisition ratings. The third experiment was a sentence context-lexical decision ...