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posted by Gary Feng @ 9:02 PM 0 comments

Perceptual Learning of Reading?

Reading is the most cost effective way of learning. Independent reading means independent learning. Reading enables a child, from a very young age, to learn from the stories and life experiences of others.

Perceptual Reading™ introduces the children to the wonderful world of reading by exposing them to the text representation of spoken words that they are familiar with. Over an 18-month period they are exposed to and thus given the experience with text that will be invaluable to their reading career. By the end of the program your child will be able to confidently read children's books on his or her own. He/she will be able to sound out unfamiliar words.

Perceptual learning in humans occurs when a person is repeatedly exposed to specific stimuli (information). Perceptual learning involves long lasting and amazing changes to the human perceptual system that incredibly improve one’s ability to respond to the environment. The mechanisms of perceptual learning include attention weighting, imprinting, differentiation, and unitization. With attention weighting, perception becomes adapted to tasks by increasing the attention paid to important dimensions and features. With imprinting, special receptors are developed that are specialized for specific stimuli. With differentiation, stimuli that were once indistinguishable become psychologically separated. With unitization, tasks that originally required detection of several components are accomplished by detecting a single construct. Because dramatic changes to human perceptual systems occur within the first six years of life (and the younger the more dramatic), your child’s training in perceptual learning in reading and maths must occur during this period in order to achieve effortless learning for success and happiness in school and life
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Whole Stimulus Imprinting

As more instances of maths and reading materials are stored, performance improves because more relevant instances can be retrieved, and the time required for retrieving them decreases. Your child’s performance in perceptual tasks is dependent on the amount of their experience with a particular stimulus. Performance is better on frequently presented items than rare items. Perceptual Maths™ and Perceptual Reading™ expose relevant materials that improve their performance in maths and reading. As your child gets older they will be better able to perceptually identify unclear or quickly presented maths and reading materials because they will have already been exposed to them during a period of perceptual plasticity.

posted by Gary Feng @ 9:29 PM 0 comments

something useful

Web Chi Square Calculator

Chi Square Tutorial | Run a demo | Jeff's demo | Begin chi square | Feedback

posted by Gary Feng @ 1:47 AM 0 comments

Dylslexia Japan

International Book on Dyslexia Japan Ms Eiko TODO, Chairperson, NPO EDGE ﾐ Japan Dyslexia Society 2-31-7-1002 Jigumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan Email: todo@todoplan.co.jp 1. Context In Japan dyslexia is considered as one of main symptoms of LD (learning disabilities). It was not until 10 years ago that the true movement towards recognition of LD started under the leadership of *Professor Kazuhiko Ueno. Parentsﾕ groups were formed to gather information and to investigate the possibilities. The notion of LD is still confused although the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Education have come up with the definition respectively in 1997 and 1999. Many other symptoms such as ADHD, autism, and mentally retarded are still included at the level of LD Gakkai (Japanese Academy of Learning Disabilities) or Parentsﾕ Association. Recently in October 2002, the Ministry of Education has undertaken a comprehensive survey on the incidence of dyslexia and other learning difficulties, and announced that there could be 6.3% incidence of children in the ordinary elementary schools having severe difficulties in learning despite of their level of intelligence. Unfortunately the survey was based on questionnaires which were answered by classroom teachers who are not necessarily aware of dyslexia or learning difficulties. Lack of information and knowledge, the complex structure of Japanese language with Kana letters and Kanji, social environment where it is difficult be different from others, and educational system which forces you to learn things through rote repetition, and above all lack of assessment designed to identify dyslexia, all these combined together contributes in making it difficult to detect dyslexia in Japan. The Japanese written language structure is not as clear as many researchers believe it to be. It is true that Kana is very clear form of sound letter correspondence where as when Kanji comes into play the situation becomes more complex. Origin of Kanji is from China so we have both Japanese way and Chinese way of reading for the same Kanji. For some Kanji you can figure out what is means from the shape but is impossible to learn how it is pronounced unless you are really good at guessing. And you are supposed to learn how to read and write about 1000 Kanji by the time you finish the elementary school. 2. Legislations and policies There is no legislation as to dyslexia or LD in Japan yet. But there are positive move to start a SEN (special educational needs) within the framework of regular classes. Unfortunately the main focuses are for physically disabled, blind and partially sighted, deaf and hard of hearing and for the mentally retarded and so forth. This is intended only for the elementary school and lower secondary school (i.e. up to 15). In the year 2001, the budget was allotted to the research of LD in all 47 prefectures in Japan. The purpose of the research is to designate a school per prefecture and investigate the number of LDs in each school and look for teaching method. In the year 2002, consideration about educational support for ADHD and autism has been discussed at Researchers and Collaborators Conference. As for LD, model project were deployed in 47 prefectures in Japan, and the report will due very soon. 3. Definition and Terminology The word dyslexia in Japan is purely used for acquired dyslexia in medical term. In educational term, LD is widely used in Japan. The definition for LD in Japan as defined by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Welfare include dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. We try to use the term developmental dyslexia in order to differentiate from dyslexia which is caused by accident or illness and LD which in Japan includes sometimes retarded, autism, ADHD and epilepsy. DSM-III (American criteria for diagnosis) and ICD-10(WHO criteria for diagnosis) are well known amongst the medical doctors and psychologists. Reading, writing and calculation difficulties are listed as Learning Disorders but actually they rarely are diagnosed as such in medical institutions as there are no criteria for diagnosis. Also now ADHD and autism are attracting more attention which could be another reason for not having children being diagnosed as being dyslexic. 4. Identification and Assessment Most local educational authorities rely only on psychological tests such as WISC III to measure the difference of verbal IQ and performance IQ, and sometimes to see the short term memory through digital span. In case of a pediatric neurologist specialized in dyslexia, WISC-III, diagram tracing of Gesell, Anomia, vocabulary test and phonetic recognition by speech therapist, clinical diagnosis such as hand writing, language comprehension are undertaken. Somewhat it is similar to Bangor test in UK. In short there is no standardized assessment for dyslexia in Japan yet. 5. Intervention and Resources For children with special educational needs there are classes outside ordinary classes for the speech impaired and emotionally disturbed. These children commute to these classes once a week. Some LD children are included. Class for emotionally disturbed was designed to deal with children with autism (Asperger) and ADHD in order to train them in social skills in group of 3 to 4 children. There are some dyslexic children in speech impaired classes but are usually not taught correctly unless the teacher in charge is really experienced. 6. Teacher Training Teachers from ordinary classes are one day assigned to these SEN classes. They have a brief training on how to operate the hearing aid and to undertake some hearing test. The new teachers have a training session for SEN before joining the schools in the form of lecture. National Institute for Special Education and Education Centers located in prefectures undertake teachers training on LD. The curriculum includes understanding of LD, ADHD and other learning difficulties, how to instruct children with special needs, and creation of IEP. These teachers who have finished the course are expected to go back to their regions and be the leading figure on LD education in the area. The Japan Dyslexia Society is now introducing a project for teacher training for dyslexic children with special emphasis on reading and writing in Japanese. Once this method is set up, the Society aims to spread the method through out Japan in collaboration with the Ministry of Educaton. 7. Advocacy Groups LD Gakkai (Japanese Academy of Learning Disabilities), Chairperson Professor Kazuhiko Ueno Tokyo Gakugei Daigaku http://www.u-gakugei.ac.jp/index.html (In Japanese only) Parents Association, National Parentsﾕ Association of Learning Disabilities in Japan http://www.normanet.ne.jp/~zenkokld/index.html (In Japanese only) Tokyo Area ﾔKeyakiﾕ http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hp/keyaki/HTML/ENG/E_00.html NPO EDGE (Japan Dyslexia Society) http://www.npo-edge.jp e-mail:info@npo-edge.jp 8. Exams and Curriculum Provisions None. There are some cases where private high schools allowed students to take oral exam but actually none of these students were allowed in. According to the survey done to Universities concerning acceptance of disabled students, there were several universities that say ﾔwe do not exclude LDs from taking the entrance examinationsﾕ or ﾔdepends on casesﾕ. When we investigated further asking which kind of provisions they offered their answer was ﾔthere are none because we never had this happen in the pastﾕ. 9. Adult Provisions None 10. The way ahead NPO EDGE (Japan Dyslexia Society) has been approved to undertake various supporting tasks for dyslexic children and adults. The aim of this NPO is to facilitate the living of dyslexic people and their priority task is to prepare a system which is affordable and manageable. First thing the NPO has to cope with is to prepare a check list, screening test and assessment test, followed by educational materials and now-how for teachers and parents to use at school and home. Next step would be to consider English teaching method for children who would be diagnosed at junior high school. Prepare the provision for the exams. Work with private schools to include dyslexic children in their schools. Prepare working environment for dyslexic people. Collaboration between the parties involved is another area to be exploited. Education, health and welfare, employment and other administrative bodies should all get together to work out a practical system for dyslexic people. Diet members are forming a parliamentary group over the parties to discuss policies concerning SEN and dyslexia. Media coverage is increasing. A famous actress who is proven to be very clever has written in her new publication that she has dyscalculia. This is the first time someone has admitted being an LD in Japan. *Dr Junko KATO, *Dr Akira UNO are preparing a research group for developmental dyslexia together with *Dr Taeko Wydell. References: Junko KATO, M.D., member of LD Gakkai (Japanese Academy of Learning Disabilities) and IDA（International Dyslexia Association）, Clinic Kato Masayoshi TSUGE, Ph.D., Senior Specialist, Special Support Education Division, Ministry of Education Taeko N. WYDELL, BA (Hons), Ph.D., Reader in Psychology, Department of Human Sciences, Brunel University Akira UNO, Ph.D., Head, Therapeutic Division, National Institute of Mental Health

info@npo-edge.jp

posted by Gary Feng @ 6:36 AM 0 comments

SnagIt: screen to movie capture

posted by Gary Feng @ 5:51 AM 0 comments

A new paper on Extreme Groups Approach

posted by Gary Feng @ 7:17 AM 0 comments

Edson Miyamoto

posted by Gary Feng @ 7:10 AM 0 comments

Prince Hotel Kyoto

posted by Gary Feng @ 7:00 AM 0 comments

Japanese Cog Sci Soc conference

posted by Gary Feng @ 9:39 AM 0 comments

From ``Logographic'' to Normal Reading: The Case of a Deaf beginning reader

posted by Gary Feng @ 9:18 AM 0 comments

Michal Lavidor

Dr Michal Lavidor

Reader in Psychology

Contact Details:
Tel: 01482-466697
Fax: 01482-465599
Email: M.Lavidor@hull.ac.uk

Publications and in press (2001 onward):
Whitney, C. & Lavidor, M . (in press). Facilitative orthographic neighborhood effects: The SERIOL model account . Cognitive Psychology .
Lavidor, M., & Bailey, P. (in press). Dissociations between serial position and number of letters effects in lateralized visual word recognition. Journal of Research in Reading .
Lavidor, M., Johnston, R. S., & Snowling, M. S. (in press). When phonology fails: orthographic neighbourhood effects in dyslexia. Brain and Language .
Lavidor, M., & Whitney, C. (2005). Word length effects in Hebrew. Cognitive Brain Research, 24, 127-132 .
Ellis, A. W., Brooks, J., & Lavidor, M . (2005). Evaluating a split fovea model of visual word recognition: Effects of case alternation in the two visual fields and in the left and right halves of words presented at the fovea. Neuropsychologia, 43 , 1128-1137.

posted by Gary Feng @ 8:58 AM 0 comments

Colin Phillips

	Colin Phillips
	Department of Linguistics University of Maryland 1401 Marie Mount Hall College Park, MD 20742	301-405-3082 (office) 301-405-7104 (fax) email: colin @ umd.edu office: 1413F Marie Mount Hall

I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Maryland, where I am a co-director of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Laboratory. Previously, I taught at the University of Delaware, and before that studied at Oxford, Rochester, and MIT. Originally, I am from the flat fen-country of eastern England.

I teach courses on various aspects of language and mind at the graduate and undergraduate level.

My research combines theoretical linguistics with language processing, language acquisition and neurolinguistics, with the primary focus on how the human mind/brain makes rapid and effortless language understanding possible. The ultimate objective is to be able to seamlessly integrate models of language, from high-level theoretical models all the way down to the neurophysiological level.

posted by Gary Feng @ 8:22 AM 0 comments

Hotel Kitcho

Traditional Japanese architecture, "Sukiyazukuri," is rapidly becoming obsolete. Few carpenters nowadays have been trained in this special craft, and a "Sukiyazukuri" Japanese room in a hotel is far more expensive to maintain than a Western room. The Hotel Kitcho has reproduced a traditional Sukiyazukuri" room using the original construction methods. One feature of this architecture is unsymmetrical beauty: "Sukiya" means both "pleasure" and "odd number (odd things are sometimes fun)," a sense of Japanese aesthetic beauty predating modernization.

posted by Gary Feng @ 8:11 AM 0 comments