Search

Reading skills constitute the basis of the learning process. An individual’s behavior is one of the main factors that affect the learning process. It is a fact that reading skills, which is a factor in the learning process, also have a behavioral dimension. Failure to consider this dimension in reading studies results in inadequate reading and understanding. The inability to read and understand negatively affects the individual's academic and social life. To solve this problem, the behavioral dimension of reading needs to be measured. No measurement tool in the national literature measures the behavioral dimension of reading skills. This scale development study was conducted with the survey model, one of the quantitative research designs. The study group consists of second-, third-, and fourth-grade students in private and public schools in Istanbul determined through an easily accessible sampling method. The research was conducted with 789 students. The following four stages were followed in the scale development process: In the first stage, the item pool was determined based on the literature; in the second stage, the opinions of field experts were consulted; in the third stage, exploratory factor analysis was conducted within the scope of the validity study; and in the fourth stage, the reliability level was calculated by performing confirmatory factor analysis. As a result of the analyses, a five-point Likert-type reading behavior scale with 18 items was developed. The Cronbach’s α internal consistency coefficient of the scale, which consists of three sub-factors: “Focusing in Reading,” “Order in Reading,” and “Aesthetics in Reading,” was calculated as 0.909. In line with the evidence regarding validity and reliability, this scale can be used by researchers and teachers to determine the reading behavior of primary school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of INES Journal: The Journal of International Education Science / Uluslararası Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of INES Journal: The Journal of International Education Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Academic Library & Information Science is the property of Anhui University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In contemporary times, the cultivation and advancement of libraries hold substantial importance as indicative markers of cultural progress. This research endeavors to examine the cultural and social implications arising from the establishment of a library within the Vanak village neighborhood of Tehran. The study employs a theoretical framework grounded in the human-environment perspective, focusing on three key areas of intervention: changes in the local community, leisure opportunities, and reading behavior. The ensuing analysis encompasses the assessment of social, cultural, economic, and physical consequences. Methodologically, the study employs a two-fold approach, employing thematic analysis as the primary methodology, followed by a supplementary survey method. The negative aftermath of constructing the library primarily manifests in diminished street-level safety for patrons, reduced psychological comfort of neighbors, conflicts between neighbors and library patrons, and parking space challenges for residents. Conversely, the positive ramifications encompass enhanced accessibility to the library space, improved academic performance among students, increased prosperity of businesses neighboring the project, the fortification of institutional social capital through coupling school-library connections, mitigation of social harm, and heightened cultural awareness within the neighborhood. Lastly, to mitigate adverse consequences and amplify positive effects, the study proposes four potential scenarios for future project developments: failure, compensation, welcome, and hope.IntroductionIn the majority of urban projects overseen by the Tehran Municipality, it is pertinent to surpass purely economic and urban planning considerations and instead address the environmental, social, and cultural implications. Accordingly, the Vanak village neighborhood currently features approximately two libraries in its T-1 phase. The proposed undertaking, spearheaded by the "Technical and Civil Assistant" of Tehran Region 3 municipality, entails the construction of a library in the form of a book cafe. This initiative aims to bolster cultural advancement, foster an increase in per capita reading rates, and mitigate the detrimental social effects within the T-0 stage. Consequently, this research poses a crucial query for the subsequent T+1 stage: What are the cultural, social, economic, and physical consequences of erecting a book cafe for the inhabitants of Vanak village neighborhood? Thus, the primary objective of this study is to anticipate and examine the positive and negative aftermaths associated with constructing a library at the neighborhood level in Vanak village. Such endeavors strive to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of the library's construction while concurrently fostering the improvement and development of a reading culture.Literature reviewThe conceptual framework of this study draws inspiration from the "human-environmental approach," which is substantiated by numerous theories within the domains of architecture, social environment, landscape, and environmental psychology. In accordance with the triple model of "individual-environment-local community," the social and cultural repercussions resulting from the establishment of the Vanak village library are evaluated through the lens of three key variables: the audience, the neighborhood community, and the physical environment. Subsequently, an assessment of the social, cultural, economic, and physical consequences was conducted.MethodologyBased on the pragmatism paradigm, the research design employed in this study is reflective of a mixed-method approach, specifically categorized as a "social and cultural impact assessment." To that end, the research methodology comprised two distinct stages. Initially, a thematic analysis approach was employed, entailing interviews with key stakeholders encompassing municipal managers, experts from Region Three, councilors, cultural enthusiasts, local activists, school teachers, and residents residing in close proximity to the construction site. This purposeful sampling enabled a comprehensive exploration of the needs, attitudes, and consequences associated with the construction of the Vanak village library within the Deh-E-Vanak neighborhood. Subsequently, a questionnaire-based survey method was utilized to evaluate reading behavior, social needs of the residents, and the wider implications of the project. Employing a multi-stage sampling technique, the statistical population for this phase of the study encompassed all individuals aged 12 years and above residing within the Vanak village neighborhood, who could potentially benefit from the library. Considering a desired level of precision, the sample size was estimated to be 350 respondents, employing Cochran's formula.ResultsIn this study, the scenario method was employed to forecast the potential outcomes of the development endeavors and to envision effective strategies for the Vanak village library's growth and development. Accordingly, based on varying degrees of "cultural program" implementation by the municipal authority and levels of "social participation" exhibited by the Vanak village residents, four scenarios can be projected for the project's future trajectory:Failure scenario: This scenario emerges as a consequence of a feeble cultural program executed by the urban administration of Region 3, coupled with minimal motivation and limited social engagement from the community post-library inauguration. As a result, the library space and facilities experience underutilization, ultimately leading to project instability over the long term.Compensation scenario: This scenario considers the optimal utilization of existing urban spaces owned by the Region 3 municipality. Such an approach prevents redundancy and fiscal wastage, while simultaneously fostering the cultivation of awareness and cultural enrichment among the residents of Vanak village.Reception scenario: In this scenario, characterized by the cultural maturation and advancement of the Vanak village neighborhood, the community displays embracing behavior towards the library. Consequently, the library's purpose and activities align with a "neighborhood-oriented" focus. Consequently, it becomes imperative to undertake measures encompassing people-centered interaction, motivational strategies to encourage library usage, neighborhood management techniques, and the provision of diverse ancillary activities to enhance social participation within this cultural milieu. Ultimately, this scenario fosters the successful cultivation of a reading culture.Hope scenario: This scenario illustrates the gradual familiarity and utilization of the library by diverse patrons, as per their individual needs. With sustained implementation, this situation holds potential for cultural development and the advancement of a reading culture within the Vanak village community, as well as Region 3 of the municipality. Consequently, the effects and outcomes of such an optimistic scenario, primarily driven by "specialized and extra-neighborhood activities," give rise to cultural enrichment and the widespread promotion of reading.

Although electronic reading of fiction has become mainstream, little is known about how electronic texts are read, and whether this behavior is connected to readers' motivation or experience reading electronically. To address this gap, sixty undergraduate students' reading behavior was tracked while reading a 15- page short story. A novel method was used to study participants' frequency of task-switching, their reading speed, and navigational patterns unobtrusively, outside of the lab. Reading behavior was analyzed by two multilevel models to assess (1) whether variance in behavior could be predicted by the task context, such as location in text or timing of reading sessions, and (2) whether behavior was connected to participants' situational motivation to read the short story, their contextual motivation toward reading as an activity, or their task-relevant electronic experience. Our results showed that highly experienced and avid readers reacted to text difficulty more adaptively, indicating that motivation and electronic experience may have a key role in supporting comprehension. In contrast, situational motivation was not associated with reading behavior, contrary to our expectations. These findings provide a significant contribution to our understanding of e-reading, which can be used as a foundation to support recreational reading engagement on digital devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategies in reading are viewed as essential tools needed to increase comprehension and learning from text. Especially in large-scale assessments, reliable and economic measures of reading strategies are needed which are valid to assess the strategy-performance relation. Questionnaire-based self-report measures are very popular but often fail to establish a positive relation between strategy use and performance. Nevertheless, these measures are objective and content valid as well as efficient in use. One explanation for this fact may be that, depending on students' individual approaches to reading, various strategies may lead to better performance. Then, self-report questionnaires of strategy use (SRQs) would assess differences in strategic approaches of students which are not (necessarily) linked to performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether students' differences in self-reported strategy use correspond to different strategic approaches in reading. The present study compares strategic reading behavior of a homogeneous sample of 22 high-achieving ninth grade students with superior performance in reading who were chosen for their high reading-related strategy knowledge and their difference in self-reported strategy use, assessed via questionnaire. Eleven students reported frequent strategy use (FSU) and 11 students reported seldom strategy use (SSU). For both groups, strategic reading behavior was assessed in an unobtrusive way using a computer-based multiple-choice reading test. Even though both groups showed little to none differences in reading performance, results indicate that FSU and SSU students differ in processing of text during initial reading and while re-reading text passages. In addition, they differed in how they proceed with reading tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the Matthew-effect in reading, reading comprehension and leisure time reading tend to be reciprocally related. Whereas prior research invested much efforts in the identification and description of variables explaining individual differences in reading comprehension, less efforts were spend on the exploration of variables important for the development of leisure time reading. This study focuses on family literacy activities in preschool age – joint book reading, joint library visits, and the teaching of letters – and how these relate to the children' s later leisure time reading and reading comprehension. Furthermore, the role of parents' education is considered. Empirical findings are based on a sample of N = 1.242 children from the National Education Panel Study (NEPS). Joint book reading and joint library visits in families, both aspects of informal literacy activities, predicted leisure time reading of children in Grade 4, which was related to their reading comprehension. In addition, disparities with regard to parents' education were found. The results are discussed against the background of ways to promote children's leisure time reading and practical implications are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although electronic reading of fiction has become mainstream, little is known about how electronic texts are read, and whether this behavior is connected to readers’ motivation or experience reading electronically. To address this gap, sixty undergraduate students’ reading behavior was tracked while reading a 15-page short story. A novel method was used to study participants’ frequency of task-switching, their reading speed, and navigational patterns unobtrusively, outside of the lab. Reading behavior was analyzed by two multilevel models to assess (1) whether variance in behavior could be predicted by the task context, such as location in text or timing of reading sessions, and (2) whether behavior was connected to participants’ situational motivation to read the short story, their contextual motivation toward reading as an activity, or their task-relevant electronic experience. Our results showed that highly experienced and avid readers reacted to text difficulty more adaptively, indicating that motivation and electronic experience may have a key role in supporting comprehension. In contrast, situational motivation was not associated with reading behavior, contrary to our expectations. These findings provide a significant contribution to our understanding of e-reading, which can be used as a foundation to support recreational reading engagement on digital devices.

Copyright of Journal of Academic Library & Information Science is the property of Anhui University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Parent-child reading is one of the most important learning activities in parent-child interaction. It helps develop children’s writing and reading skills and other mental abilities. In parent-child reading, children not only acquire knowledge from books but also gain ability training experiences from discussing with their parents. In ddition, interactions between parents and children when reading together are also an important factor affecting children’s learning. In this study, 14 groups of parents and children were recruited for the research on parent-child reading e-books, with interviews as the main method and observation as the supplement. Parent-child reading and various oral and non-verbal behaviors were observed. After observation, behaviors was discussed in depth through semi-structured interviews and compared with observational data. This study found that with different e-book carriers and forms, there were differences in reading behaviors, such as dialogue content and physical interactions between parents and children in each group. In addition, parents and children’s opinions were different.

In prior research, reading behavior was predominantly measured using either a questionnaire, which is economical and easy to implement but imprecise, or paper-pencil diaries that document reading behavior quite accurately, but which are time consuming and costly. The present study aims to introduce and evaluate a precise and easy to implement measure of reading behavior, namely a reading diary app in which participants can record their reading behavior on a smartphone. To evaluate the development procedure, the first research question asked whether data gathered with the app is of high quality (e.g., reliability). The second research question asked how reading time recorded via the app is related to reading time assessed via different retrospective questionnaires. n = 31 German university students recorded their reading activities for 14 days. Different approaches were applied to estimate the data quality and reliability and yielded satisfactory results. Participants reported more time spent reading daily on the retrospective questionnaire than when recording their reading time using the app. The correlation between reading diary app data and questionnaire data was medium in size. Our findings are discussed in the light of future directions for reading research and the use of ambulatory assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a daily basis, most people read about issues of interest from a diversity of sources. Moreover, the information they encounter frequently encompass discrepancies, ranging from minor inconsistencies to straight contradictions. Readers may construct coherent representations from discrepant contents by linking contents to their respective sources and connecting the sources with agree-disagree or other types of connectives. Across research studies, however, college-level readers' attention to sources has been found to vary according to individual, text and task dimensions. The present study tested the assumption that readers' strategies depend both on the discrepancy of the information and on the context in which the task is framed. Moreover, beliefs about science were included as potential moderator of context effects. One hundred and sixty university students were tasked to read about a series of social-scientific issues. The task was framed in either a university context or a personal context scenario. For each topic, the participants read two short texts which provided either consistent or discrepant information, and then they wrote a short overview essay. The university context had a significant impact on indicators related to a documents model representation (e.g., text switches, number of adversative connectors in the essay) and standards for presentation (e.g., time on the essay/task page, formal features of the essay). The data support a context-dependent view of reading comprehension, whereby both reading behavior and outcomes are primarily a function of the standards and goals set by the reader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Digitized learning materials are a core part of modern education, and analysis of the use can offer insight into the learning behavior of high and low performing students. The topic of predicting student characteristics has gained a lot of attention in recent years, with applications ranging from affect to performance and at-risk student prediction. In this paper, we examine students reading behavior using a digital textbook system while taking an open-book test from the perspective of engagement and performance to identify the strategies that are used. We create models to predict the performance and engagement of learners before the start of the assessment and extract reading behavior characteristics employed before and after the start of the assessment in a higher education setting. It was found that strategies, such as: revising and previewing are indicators of how a learner will perform in an open ebook assessment. Low performing students take advantage of the open ebook policy of the assessment and employ a strategy of searching for information during the assessment. Also compared to performance, the prediction of overall engagement has a higher accuracy, and therefore could be more appropriate for identifying intervention candidates as an early-warning intervention system.

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Bildungsforschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An estimated one-fifth of adults in the United States possess low literacy skills, which includes minimal proficiency in reading and difficulty processing contextual information. One way to study reading behavior of adults with low literacy is through eye movement studies; however, these investigations have been generally limited. Thus, the present study collected eye movement data (e.g., gaze duration, total time, regressions) from adult literacy learners while they read sentences to investigate online reading behavior. We manipulated the lexical ambiguity of the target words, context strength, and context location in the sentences. The role of vocabulary depth, which refers to the deeper understanding of a word in one's vocabulary, was also examined. Results show that adult literacy learners spent more total time reading ambiguous words compared to control words and vocabulary depth was significantly correlated with processing of lexically ambiguous words. Participants with higher depth scores were more sensitive to the complexity of ambiguous words and more effective at utilizing context compared to those with lower depth scores, which is reflected by more total time reading ambiguous words when more informative context was available and more regressions made to the target word by participants with higher depth scores. Overall, there is evidence to demonstrate the benefits of context use in lexical processing, as well as adult learners' sensitivity to changes in lexical ambiguity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large amounts of studies have shown that reading behavior is an important aspect for the development of students' reading skills. The construct reading behavior as examined in large-scale assessments and surveys within the field of empirical educational research is operationalized through a wide range of reading and reading-related aspects (e.g., reading time, reading frequency, print exposure, reading engagement, book genre preferences, knowledge of authors or book titles) and a broad array of measurement methods are used. The approaches to measure the same variable - namely reading behavior - differ fundamentally from each other, while at the same time, a clear concept that would help to classify the used measurement instruments and to interpret them in relation to the superordinate construct of reading behavior is missing. Therefore, the present article aims to give an overview of methods to measure reading behavior within the context of large-scale assessments and surveys, and to discuss how they were implemented. Finally, we make some suggestions on how it might be possible to relate the applied measurement approaches to each other, especially in terms of their content and theoretical relationship to the overarching construct of reading behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large amounts of studies have shown that reading behavior is an important aspect for the development of students’ reading skills. The construct reading behavior as examined in large-scale assessments and surveys within the field of empirical educational research is operationalized through a wide range of reading and reading-related aspects (e.g., reading time, reading frequency, print exposure, reading engagement, book genre preferences, knowledge of authors or book titles) and a broad array of measurement methods are used. The approaches to measure the same variable – namely reading behavior – differ fundamentally from each other, while at the same time, a clear concept that would help to classify the used measurement instruments and to interpret them in relation to the superordinate construct of reading behavior is missing. Therefore, the present article aims to give an overview of methods to measure reading behavior within the context of large-scale assessments and surveys, and to discuss how they were implemented. Finally, we make some suggestions on how it might be possible to relate the applied measurement approaches to each other, especially in terms of their content and theoretical relationship to the overarching construct of reading behavior.

Background: Affected by the COVID-19, many colleges have adopted online teaching. Meanwhile, the digital transformation of academic journals has shifted readers' reading habits from traditional paper media to digital media. Digital academic reading has become the main reading method of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral characteristics of college students' digital academic reading and explore the internal factors and external environmental factors affecting the Intention and Use behavior of digital academic reading. At the same time this study provide recommendations to address these influencing factors in terms of the individual, the environment and library resources. Methods: Based on UTAUT2 model and digital academic reading theories, this paper constructs a digital academic reading information behavior (DARB) model of college students to examine college students' digital academic reading behavior and intention. College students with digital academic reading behavior were recruited as research participants. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect representative samples from universities in Nanjing. 239 respondents participated in the questionnaire, with 189 providing valid data. Results: Effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), price value (PV), perceived risk (PR) and habit (BH) have a significant impact on behavioral intention (BI), and behavioral intention (BI) and habit (BH) have a significant impact on use behavior (B). However, performance expectancy (PE) and facilitating conditions (FC) have no significant influence on behavioral intention (BI). Originality/value: The findings of this study will help fill the gap in previous research on the relationship between the influencing factors of digital academic reading and college students' reading intentions and behaviors, so as to provide a basis for improving the academic reading literacy program in colleges and optimizing the current digital academic reading environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading comics has always been one of the favorite leisure activities of Taiwanese people. To attract Taiwanese people to read and love Taiwanese comics, this study investigates whether Taiwan comics readers will improve their reading motivation and attitude and jointly promote their reading behavior by satisfying their perceived freedom of leisure. This study uses the questionnaire survey method based on purposive sampling to distribute through both online and paper questionnaires and collect one thousand valid responses. The results of the study show that after satisfying their psychological needs during leisure activities, Taiwanese comic readers will improve their reading motivation and reading attitude, which will positively affect the reading behavior of Taiwanese comic readers, and they are willing to continue to engage in reading [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With the increasing use of digital learning materials in higher education, the accumulated operational log data provide a unique opportunity to analyzing student learning behaviors and their effects on student learning performance to understand how students learn with e-books. Among the students’ reading behaviors interacting with e-book systems, we find that jump-back is a frequent and informative behavior type. In this paper, we aim to understand the student’s intention for a jump-back using user learning log data on the e-book materials of a course in our university. We at first formally define the “jump-back” behaviors that can be detected from the click event stream of slide reading and then systematically study the behaviors from different perspectives on the e-book event stream data. Finally, by sampling 22 learning materials, we identify six reading activity patterns that can explain jump backs. Our analysis provides an approach to enriching the understanding of e-book learning behaviors and informs design implications for e-book systems.

Digitized learning materials are a core part of modern education, and analysis of the use can offer insight into the learning behavior of high and low performing students. The topic of predicting student characteristics has gained a lot of attention in recent years, with applications ranging from affect to performance and at-risk student prediction. In this paper, we examine students reading behavior using a digital textbook system while taking an open-book test from the perspective of engagement and performance to identify the strategies that are used. We create models to predict the performance and engagement of learners before the start of the assessment and extract reading behavior characteristics employed before and after the start of the assessment in a higher education setting. It was found that strategies, such as: revising and previewing are indicators of how a learner will perform in an open ebook assessment. Low performing students take advantage of the open ebook policy of the assessment and employ a strategy of searching for information during the assessment. Also compared to performance, the prediction of overall engagement has a higher accuracy, and therefore could be more appropriate for identifying intervention candidates as an early-warning intervention system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing use of digital learning materials in higher education, the accumulated operational log data provide a unique opportunity to analyzing student learning behaviors and their effects on student learning performance to understand how students learn with e-books. Among the students' reading behaviors interacting with e-book systems, we find that jump-back is a frequent and informative behavior type. In this paper, we aim to understand the student's intention for a jump-back using user learning log data on the e-book materials of a course in our university. We at first formally define the "jump-back" behaviors that can be detected from the click event stream of slide reading and then systematically study the behaviors from different perspectives on the e-book event stream data. Finally, by sampling 22 learning materials, we identify six reading activity patterns that can explain jump backs. Our analysis provides an approach to enriching the understanding of e-book learning behaviors and informs design implications for e-book systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading is one of the popular activities among elderly persons. A reasonable level of daylight illumination can ensure the visual comfort of reading for elderly persons. State arousal level and subjective comfort report are important parameters reflecting the effect of daylight illumination on visual comfort of reading in elderly persons. In this study, daylight illumination measurements were conducted in a nursing institution of Shenyang, China. Moreover, the methods of electrodermal activity (EDA) physiological index measurement and questionnaire scoring were used to compare and analyze the state arousal level and visual comfort of elderly persons under different illumination conditions. The results show that when elderly persons were involved in their daily reading activity, the acceptable daylight illumination range was between 300 and 1000 lx. When the daylight illumination was between 600 and 800 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was high; when it was 700 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was the highest. Although 500 and 900 lx both indicated neutral illumination, the evaluations were more consistent at 500 lx than at 900 lx. At 300, 400, and 1000 lx, visual comfort was poor and the state arousal level was low. At 300 lx, visual comfort was the worst and the state arousal level was the lowest. This study provides a reliable reference for architects to design the daylight conditions of the living spaces of the elderly.

One often used approach to increase students' reading frequency is investing in independent silent reading (ISR) at schools: regularly scheduling time during which students read silently in books of their own choice. However, evidence for the impact of ISR is inconclusive and there appear to be important barriers to its effects on students' reading frequency, motivation, and proficiency: particularly struggling readers have difficulties choosing appropriate books, simply allotting time for reading does not guarantee that students read, ISR lacks accountability, and students are not always given the opportunity to interact about what they read. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to test whether additions to ISR that aim to overcome these barriers contribute to the effects of ISR on students' reading. Using outcomes of 51 effect studies covering 56 samples of students in primary and secondary education, we established a small but significant positive short-term intervention effect on overall reading proficiency (Cohen's d = 0.27). We additionally found that additions to ISR were particularly effective for students at risk of reading failure; for stronger readers, effects were absent. Finally, we found a negative effect of help or instruction by the teacher, which suggests that activities during reading might interfere with students' engagement with texts. • Additions to independent silent reading contribute to reading proficiency. • Effects of contributions to ISR particularly occurred for at-risk students. • Activities during reading might interfere with students' engagement with texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was detrimental to lifestyle and behavior. In this investigation, changes in reading habits during the pandemic were examined., Methods: The study is cross-sectional and survey-based. 1844 individuals completed an online survey about sociodemographic and reading habits during COVID-19. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the study variables., Results: Most of the participants were active readers (71.5%-83.2%). Fewer (13.8-18.0%) reported a decrease in reading, while about half reported a no change, and 1/3 rd reported an increase. Changes in reading habits were related to age, education, job type, and income., Conclusion: About half of the participants during the pandemic reported a change in reading habits. Interventions to further enhance reading among people during the pandemic might help ameliorate the negative impacts of the pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise., (© 2023 Alomari et al.)

Background: Affected by the COVID-19, many colleges have adopted online teaching. Meanwhile, the digital transformation of academic journals has shifted readers' reading habits from traditional paper media to digital media. Digital academic reading has become the main reading method of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic., Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral characteristics of college students' digital academic reading and explore the internal factors and external environmental factors affecting the Intention and Use behavior of digital academic reading. At the same time this study provide recommendations to address these influencing factors in terms of the individual, the environment and library resources., Methods: Based on UTAUT2 model and digital academic reading theories, this paper constructs a digital academic reading information behavior (DARB) model of college students to examine college students' digital academic reading behavior and intention. College students with digital academic reading behavior were recruited as research participants. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect representative samples from universities in Nanjing. 239 respondents participated in the questionnaire, with 189 providing valid data. Results: Effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), price value (PV), perceived risk (PR) and habit (BH) have a significant impact on behavioral intention (BI), and behavioral intention (BI) and habit (BH) have a significant impact on use behavior (B). However, performance expectancy (PE) and facilitating conditions (FC) have no significant influence on behavioral intention (BI)., Originality/value: The findings of this study will help fill the gap in previous research on the relationship between the influencing factors of digital academic reading and college students' reading intentions and behaviors, so as to provide a basis for improving the academic reading literacy program in colleges and optimizing the current digital academic reading environment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Chang, Wang, Liu, Feng and Zhang.)

Reading is one of the popular activities among elderly persons. A reasonable level of daylight illumination can ensure the visual comfort of reading for elderly persons. State arousal level and subjective comfort report are important parameters reflecting the effect of daylight illumination on visual comfort of reading in elderly persons. In this study, daylight illumination measurements were conducted in a nursing institution of Shenyang, China. Moreover, the methods of electrodermal activity (EDA) physiological index measurement and questionnaire scoring were used to compare and analyze the state arousal level and visual comfort of elderly persons under different illumination conditions. The results show that when elderly persons were involved in their daily reading activity, the acceptable daylight illumination range was between 300 and 1000 lx. When the daylight illumination was between 600 and 800 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was high; when it was 700 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was the highest. Although 500 and 900 lx both indicated neutral illumination, the evaluations were more consistent at 500 lx than at 900 lx. At 300, 400, and 1000 lx, visual comfort was poor and the state arousal level was low. At 300 lx, visual comfort was the worst and the state arousal level was the lowest. This study provides a reliable reference for architects to design the daylight conditions of the living spaces of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although decision-makers in health care settings need to read and understand the validity of quantitative reports, they do not always carefully read information on research methods. Presenting the methods in a more structured way could improve the time spent reading the methods and increase the perceived relevance of this important report section., Objective: To test the effect of a structured summary of the methods used in a quantitative data report on reading behavior with eye-tracking and measure the effect on the perceived importance of this section., Methods: A nonrandomized pilot trial was performed in a computer laboratory setting with advanced medical students. All participants were asked to read a quantitative data report; an intervention arm was also shown a textbox summarizing key features of the methods used in the report. Three data-collection methods were used to document reading behavior and the views of participants: eye-tracking (during reading), a written questionnaire, and a face-to-face interview., Results: We included 35 participants, 22 in the control arm and 13 in the intervention arm. The overall time spent reading the methods did not differ between the 2 arms. The intervention arm considered the information in the methods section to be less helpful for decision-making than did the control arm (scores for perceived helpfulness were 4.1 and 2.9, respectively, range 1-10). Participants who read the box more intensively tended to spend more time on the methods as a whole (Pearson correlation 0.81, P=.001)., Conclusions: Adding a structured summary of information on research methods attracted attention from most participants, but did not increase the time spent on reading the methods or lead to increased perceptions that the methods section was helpful for decision-making. Participants made use of the summary to quickly judge the methods, but this did not increase the perceived relevance of this section., (©Jan Koetsenruijter, Pamela Wronski, Sucheta Ghosh, Wolfgang Müller, Michel Wensing. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (https://medinform.jmir.org), 12.04.2022.)