The dynamic turn in Epistemic Logic is based on the idea that notions of information should be studied together with the actions that modify them. Dynamic epistemic logics have explored how knowledge and beliefs change as consequence of, among others, acts of observation and upgrade. Nevertheless, the omniscient nature of the represented agents has kept finer actions outside the picture, the mo...

Individual differences in semantics and beliefs have up to now been identified primarily by questioning people. However, semantics and beliefs can also be observed in concrete, quantifiable contexts such as reaction-time experiments. Here we demonstrate an automatic mechanism which can replicate such semantics by observing regularities in language use through statistical text analysis. We postu...

Ordinal Conditional Functions (OCFs) are one of the predominant frameworks to define belief change operators. In his original paper Spohn defines OCFs as functions from the set of worlds to the set of ordinals. But in subsequent paper by Spohn and others, OCFs are just used as functions from the set of worlds to natural numbers (plus eventually +∞). The use of transfinite ordinals in this frame...

Readability formulae predict reading outcomes relying on text characteristics but they do not consider reader abilities. This paper describes ways of formulating a reading comprehension formula which includes reader and text characteristics. An experiment embracing 124 subjects and 48 texts serves to demonstrate the mechanisms through which the formula is developed. The applicability of the for...

Reading time is commonly used as a basis for the study of reading. It has been observed in previous studies that unexpected sentences initiating a new context in a body of text considerably increases its reading time. There are two general accounts of the mechanism behind this slowdown. The first views reading, both slow and fast, to be a single, continuous process. The second views reading as ...

In face-to-face instruction of Reciprocal Teaching (RT), students’ reading processes and dialogues with their peers are hardly observed. As a result, the teacher has few clues to identify students’ learning difficulties and provide further scaffoldings. To record students’ reading processes and enhance their comprehension, this study reports on the design of an online reciprocal teaching and le...

Research conducted in South Africa indicates that many South African students who register for undergraduate study each year are under-prepared for university education and that many of these students also have low levels of reading ability. This has an adverse effect on their chances of academic success. In order to meet the reading needs of students in the 21st century, educators are pressed ...