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The article suggests evidence of dictation in the manuscript of Ben Jonson's play "Entertainment at Britain's Burse." It considers Lawrence Stone's discovery of records of payment to Jonson and two other men for having wryt the text, as well as a National Archives manuscript which shows four different handwritings. It argues on the lack of corrections in the middle part of the manuscript, reduplication of a word-final consonant before a word-initial vowel and handling of speech headings.

The increased use of digital writing led to the appearance of written content that may differ from the standards of spelling. Writing instant messages leads to the production of two different types of written forms that differ from standard spelling: (a) those that can be confused with misspellings and (b) those that cannot. We showed that the production of the second type of modifications has no effect on spelling production. Our research protocol allowed comparing two corpora (written in 1974 and 2012). These results showed that when a modification has no orthographic equivalent, its use cannot damage the quality of spelling production. When it does, the effect on spelling may be negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Feuerbach manuscripts, the core theses of the materialist conception of history were documented for the first time. Most of the handwriting of the manuscripts belongs to Engels. But later Engels repeatedly stated that the first discoverer of this conception is Marx, not him. This is a contradiction. This contradiction had been discussed for nearly a century, but it has not led scholars to a common result. Why? In my opinion, it was because no one, including the former and new MEGA editors, ever attempted to examine a very important problem, namely, the possibility that the Feuerbach manuscripts could have been dictated by Marx and written by Engels. If this possibility existed really, no contradiction will remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Use of Electronic Health Records is increasing. Copy-and-paste function is frequently used with higher rates of documentation errors. Studies to determine the nature of such errors are needed. Objectives: Determination of the effect of implementing a dictation system for completing notes on the quality of clinical documentation. We hypothesized that implementation of the dictation system for note writing would decrease the rate of errors in the progress notes as well as decrease the rate of copying and pasting. Design/Methods: A prospective interventional study in inpatient medical service for six month's duration starting in July 2016. Resident physician's charts were reviewed by the attending physician on a daily basis. This study was done in a community based hospital affiliated to a university program. Resident's physicians included Internal Medicine, Transitional year and Combined Internal Medicine Pediatrics residents. Charts reviewed for hospitalized patients. A total of 54 residents were offered a pre-intervention survey indicating their subjective use of copy/paste function. Response rate of 85.18%. Progress notes were reviewed on a daily basis for residents on their inpatient rotation. A total of 621 notes were reviewed. Results: Percentage of notes copied prior to the intervention was 92.73% which decreased to 49.71% post-intervention (RR of 0.54, 95% CI 0.48 0.60 Z statistic 11.005 with p-value >0.0001). Of the copied notes percentage of errors pre-intervention was 58% with no errors identified post-intervention (RR of 0.005, 95% CI 0.0003 0.0795 Z statistic 3.752 with p-value 0.0002). Most of the errors are from notes copied by the same author (85.8%). The most common documentation error was in the physical examination section. Conclusion: Implementing a dictation system eliminated documentation errors over our six month's study. Further studies are needed to check long effects of using such systems on documentation errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Chinese word dictation difficulties were related to deficits in lexical knowledge. [•] Slow handwriting speed was related to poor rapid automatic naming. [•] Visual motor integration accounted for variability in handwriting legibility. [•] Morphological and orthographic trainings are useful for writing intervention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] We compare the lexical spelling performance in dictation and communicative narration. [•] Two groups: specific language impairment (SLI)/typically developing (TD). [•] Superiority of TD group: less important in the narratives than in the dictations. [•] Adolescents: in the narratives, the SLI group was not different from the TD group. [•] SLI group, in the narratives (unlike dictation): no specific spelling errors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During the first half of the nineteenth century, the advent of photography as an automatic technology for capturing images inspired fantasies of an equivalent technology that would enable people to create written documents simply by speaking. This was the primary context into which the phonograph was born: when Thomas Edison hit upon its principle in 1877, his first impulse was to use it to streamline the production of conventional written documents. While past scholarship has focused on the failure of phonographic business dictation relative to phonographic entertainment as part of a narrative centered on the rise of the commercial recording industry, this essay redirects attention toward processes of composition and editing on which the phonograph's social utility as a text-making tool depended. When the phonograph was used to generate a typewritten business letter, the goal was not to produce a "record" of a given speech event but to allow the dictator to compose a socially acceptable written document quickly and conveniently. The practical need to correct mistakes in recorded dictations led to the formulation of editing techniques that anticipated those associated with later "art" phonography and also predated comparable editing practices in film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I show that the mental model found in Henry James's late works derives from his switch to typewritten dictation. While dictating to the typewriter, James says that words are effectively and unceasingly "pulled out" of him by what he calls the "music" of the machine. The "click" of the Remington actually acts as a "positive spur" to his speech, resulting in a diffuseness that makes keeping any text within the length specified by the publisher virtually impossible for him. Critics have left these material effects of the writing machine largely unexamined. But through careful investigation, it can be demonstrated that the properties of typewritten dictation play a crucial role in forming the dynamic system of drives, compulsions, repetitions, and displacements for which James's late works are famous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on operative reports of surgeons that are mostly yielded through dictation and transcription. It depicts that reports should supply clinical data that are utilized in improving surgical outcomes. It also mentions Dr. Atul Gawande's "The Checklist Manifesto" which stresses the use of reporting checklist in creating a complete and accurate reports. It is inferred that dictated reports does not guarantee specific findings, and that gathering data from non-integrated narrative reports is much expensive and time consuming. An image is presented which depicts mTuitive synoptic report. Also discussed are the three alternatives of dictation, speech recognition, templated dictated reports and structures reports.

The present study has surveyed physician views and attitudes before and after the introduction of speech technology as a front end to an electronic medical record. At the hospital where the survey was made, speech technology recently (2006–2007) replaced traditional dictation and subsequent secretarial transcription for all physicians in clinical departments. The aim of the survey was (i) to identify how attitudes and perceptions among physicians affected the acceptance and success of the speech-recognition system and the new work procedures associated with it; and (ii) to assess the degree to which physicians’ attitudes and expectations to the use of speech technology changed after actually using it. The survey was based on two questionnaires—one administered when the physicians were about to begin training with the speech-recognition system and another, asking similar questions, when they had had some experience with the system. The survey data were supplemented with performance data from the speech-recognition system. The results show that the surveyed physicians tended to report a more negative view of the system after having used it for some months than before. When judging the system retrospectively, physicians are approximately evenly divided between those who think it was a good idea to introduce speech recognition (33%), those who think it was not (31%) and those who are neutral (36%). In particular, the physicians felt that they spent much more time producing medical records than before, including time correcting the speech recognition, and that the overall quality of records had declined. Nevertheless, workflow improvements and the possibility to access the records immediately after dictation were almost unanimously appreciated. Physicians’ affinity with the system seems to be quite dependent on their perception of the associated new work procedures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The hypothalamus contains distinct neuronal populations that express distinguishing neuropeptides. The supraoptic nucleus contains magnocellular neurons that predominantly express either vasopressin or oxytocin. Transcriptional activators of vasopressin and other neuropeptides have been the subject of much research. Here we present a method of measuring neuropeptide transcription by tailoring one-step quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for the analysis of processed and pre-mRNA (heteronuclear RNA). Using moderate and strong hyperosmotic stimuli to induce transcription, we report an increase in vasopressin transcription (pre-mRNA) of 141% and 406% over control levels in response to a 2% injection of 900mOsm saline or a 1% body weight i.p. injection of 2M NaCl, respectively. These results agree with a host of studies employing the more labor-intensive method of in situ hybridization histochemistry by which investigators also measured intron-containing heteronuclear RNAs. Furthermore, these results confirm that qRT-PCR with intron-specific primers can be used to rapidly analyze transcription, and suggest an important further benefit of a real-time PCR analysis, such as the ability of measuring transcription of multiple neuropeptides along with other genes from a single sample. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The trp RNA-binding attenuation protein (TRAP) regulates expression of the tryptophan biosynthetic and transport genes in Bacillus subtilis in response to changes in the levels of intracellular tryptophan. Transcription of the trpEDCFBA operon is controlled by an attenuation mechanism involving two overlapping RNA secondary structures in the 5′ leader region of the trp transcript; TRAP binding promotes formation of a transcription terminator structure that halts transcription prior to the structural genes. TRAP consists of 11 identical subunits and is activated to bind RNA by binding up to 11 molecules of L-tryptophan. The TRAP binding site in the leader region of the trp operon mRNA consists of 11 (G/U)AG repeats. We examined the importance of the rate of TRAP binding to RNA for the transcription attenuation mechanism. We compared the properties of two types of TRAP 11-mers: homo-11-mers composed of 11 wild-type subunits, and hetero-11-mers with only one wild-type subunit and ten mutant subunits defective in binding either RNA or tryptophan. The hetero-11-mers bound RNA with only slightly diminished equilibrium binding affinity but with slower on-rates as compared to WT TRAP. The hetero-11-mers showed significantly decreased ability to induce transcription termination in the trp leader region when examined using an in vitro attenuation system. Together these results indicate that the rate of TRAP binding to RNA is a crucial factor in TRAP''s ability to control attenuation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BACKGROUND Operative notes can be generated electronically by manual input of the entire note, free-form oral dictation, or using either an electronic template or a template for dictation. There are few studies that have directly compared these modalities in terms of speed, accuracy, and completeness. OBJECTIVE The objective was to determine whether electronic templates are more efficient and reduce errors compared to free-form oral dictation for the completion of Mohs micrographic surgery operative notes. METHODS Operative notes for 110 consecutive Mohs micrographic surgery cases were completed either by oral dictation or by electronic template. The time to dictate or complete the template was recorded for each note. Notes were subsequently edited, recording the number and type of errors as well as the time required to edit each note. RESULTS Compared with dictation, operative notes completed with the electronic template had fewer errors (5.8% vs. 81%), took less time to complete (175.5 seconds vs. 240.0 seconds), took less time to review and edit (41.6 seconds vs. 201.1 seconds), and were completed and signed in a more timely fashion (0.115 days vs. 20.7 days). CONCLUSION Electronic templates are a more accurate and rapid method compared to free-form oral dictation for the completion of Mohs micrographic surgery operative notes and have the advantage of being immediately available to review and sign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current machine translation systems are far from being perfect. However, such systems can be used in computer. assisted translation to increase the productivity of the (human) translation process. The idea is to use a text-to-text translation system to produce portions of target language text that can be accepted or amended by a human translator using text or speech. These user-validated portions are then used by the text-to-text translation system to produce further, hopefully improved suggestions. There are different alternatives of using speech in a computer-assisted translation system: From pure dictated translation to simple determination of acceptable partial translations by reading parts of the suggestions made by the system. In all the cases, information from the text to be translated can be used to constrain the speech decoding search space. While pure dictation seems to be among the most attractive settings, unfortunately perfect speech decoding does not seem possible with the current speech processing technology and human error-correcting would still be required. Therefore, approaches that allow for higher speech recognition accuracy by using increasingly constrained models in the speech recognition process are explored here. All these approaches are presented under the statistical framework. Empirical results support the potential usefulness of using speech within the computer-assisted translation paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Speech recognition technology continues to improve, but users still experience significant difficulty using the software to create and edit documents. The reported composition speed using speech software is only between 8 and 15 words per minute [Proc CHI 99 (1999) 568; Universal Access Inform Soc 1 (2001) 4], much lower than people''s normal speaking speed of 125¿150 words per minute. What causes the huge gap between natural speaking and composing using speech recognition? Is it possible to narrow the gap and make speech recognition more promising to users? In this paper we discuss users'' learning processes and the difficulties they experience as related to continuous dictation tasks using state of the art Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) software. Detailed data was collected for the first time on various aspects of the three activities involved in document composition tasks: dictation, navigation, and correction. The results indicate that navigation and error correction accounted for big chunk of the dictation task during the early stages of interaction. As users gained more experience, they became more efficient at dictation, navigation and error correction. However, the major improvements in productivity were due to dictation quality and the usage of navigation commands. These results provide insights regarding the factors that cause the gap between user expectation with speech recognition software and the reality of use, and how those factors changed with experience. Specific advice is given to researchers as to the most critical issues that must be addressed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents several letters to the editor of the 'British Medical Journal,' as of April 2001. Thoughts on the dangers of not reading and signing letters after dictation; How opportunity may be more important than profession in serial homicide; Headaches after diagnostic lumbar puncture; Option of catheterization in elderly women; Others.

Compares hospital discharge summaries created by voice dictation with those generated from a clinical database. How hospital discharge summaries communicate information necessary for continuing patient care; How voice dictation is often of poor quality; The effects this could have on the quality of continued care; Methods; Interpretation.

Recommends strategies for mastering the dictating skill for office operations. Comparison between dictation and writing; Benefits and limitations of dictation; Implications for improving office operations and efficiency.

The article presents an overview of voice recognition dictation technology, which is a strategy which nurses can use to reduce the amount of time they spend documenting the medical care of patients. A discussion of the history of voice recognition technology, which dates to the 1970s and was pioneered by the firm Dragon Systems, is presented. Voice recognition technology from Accelerated Workflow Solutions which was tested and utilized effectively by registered nurses at a 142 bed hospital is discussed

Reviews voice-dictation systems. The use of Dragon Systems NaturallySpeaking `Medical Suite'; The cost of the software; Difficulties with transcription errors due to the speed of the dictation; Advantage of rapid turnaround time; Claim that voice-dictation software has improved, but there is still an increase in workload and reduced overhead.

Editorial. Presents the author's thoughts on a study published in this same issue of `Canadian Medical Association Journal' regarding a comparison between dictated and database-generated hospital discharge summaries. Details of the study; The importance of completeness, organization, and timeliness of the reports; Items cited on many reports such as discharge diagnosis and pending laboratory tests; The indication that database-generated discharge were a better option than dictated summaries.

Focuses on the characteristics of a good dictator in an office setting. Advantages of shorthand transcription; Functions of a tape recorder; Difficulty in transcribing in the street, car, nursery or plane.