Sign Comprehension Research Articles

Language by mouth and by hand.

Language by mouth and by hand.

Driver's Comprehension and Improvement of Warning Signs

Warning signs are effective only when users clearly understand their meaning. Three experiments were conducted in this study. In the first, the perception accuracy of warning signs was tested. This study investigated the role of age, gender, education background, and years of license in drivers' comprehension of warning signs. The populations sampled were from Nanjing city in China. A total of 12 symbolic warning signs were investigated. A questionnaire prepared to collect the data was distributed to 550 drivers. The results showed that age, gender, and driving years have no significant influence on the sign comprehension. However, the divers with higher education background present better comprehension to warning signs than those with lower education background. In the second experiment, these signs of comprehension score less than 67% in the first experiment were screened and analyzed the cause of wrong responses using semantic analysis frequency distribution method. Using the semantic analysis method, the perception errors are researched by the four features, namely, meaningfulness, recognition, simplicity, and symbol design. In the third, improvement design of warning signs was provided. Lastly, through scheme comparison and the perception of warning signs, reasonable and improved warning signs are determined to better play management and service functions. Language: en

Proactive Evaluation of Traffic Signs Using a Traffic Sign Simulator

Traffic signs and pavement markings are a crucial aspect of road design since they are essential sources of information for road users to calibrate their driving behavior, evaluate route possibilities and cope with unexpected events. A proactive evaluation of (the quality of) these road design elements will help to improve the safety performance of the roadway. This paper presents the Traffic Sign Simulator, an innovative research tool to study the influence of these elements on road users’ routing decisions, lane choice and visual behavior, to investigate road users’ comprehension of these signs, and to collect suggestions for improvements. Using a driving simulator mock-up, participants navigate through a full HD video from route(s) in which the planned traffic signs have been digitally implemented using specialized software for camera-tracking and 3D video-integration. Participants’ route and lane choice and their visual behavior (using eye tracking) are monitored while driving through the scenario(s). Laptop preand post-tests are applied to collect additional in-depth information concerning the participants’ processing, comprehension and general evaluation of the traffic signs and suggestions for improvement. The paper illustrates the possibilities of the Traffic Sign Simulator with a case study that examined the effectiveness of temporary work zone signalization (i.e., traffic signs, digital information panels and pavement markings) as it was used during the reconstruction works on the Vilvoorde fly-over near Brussels, one of the busiest interchanges in the Belgian motorway network.

How sensory-motor systems impact the neural organization for language: direct contrasts between spoken and signed language.

To investigate the impact of sensory-motor systems on the neural organization for language, we conducted an H215O-PET study of sign and spoken word production (picture-naming) and an fMRI study of sign and audio-visual spoken language comprehension (detection of a semantically anomalous sentence) with hearing bilinguals who are native users of American Sign Language (ASL) and English. Directly contrasting speech and sign production revealed greater activation in bilateral parietal cortex for signing, while speaking resulted in greater activation in bilateral superior temporal cortex (STC) and right frontal cortex, likely reflecting auditory feedback control. Surprisingly, the language production contrast revealed a relative increase in activation in bilateral occipital cortex for speaking. We speculate that greater activation in visual cortex for speaking may actually reflect cortical attenuation when signing, which functions to distinguish self-produced from externally generated visual input. Directly contrasting speech and sign comprehension revealed greater activation in bilateral STC for speech and greater activation in bilateral occipital-temporal cortex for sign. Sign comprehension, like sign production, engaged bilateral parietal cortex to a greater extent than spoken language. We hypothesize that posterior parietal activation in part reflects processing related to spatial classifier constructions in ASL and that anterior parietal activation may reflect covert imitation that functions as a predictive model during sign comprehension. The conjunction analysis for comprehension revealed that both speech and sign bilaterally engaged the inferior frontal gyrus (with more extensive activation on the left) and the superior temporal sulcus, suggesting an invariant bilateral perisylvian language system. We conclude that surface level differences between sign and spoken languages should not be dismissed and are critical for understanding the neurobiology of language.

EDUCAÇÃO E ESCOLA E A TRAJETÓRIA DA EDUCAÇÃO DE JOVENS E ADULTOS

This research covers the historical trajectory of the Education for Youth and Adults (EYA) in Brazil seeking to understand, in the perspective of the logic of neoliberal capitalism, the great challenges and prospects of this type of education. From the literature revision, it was found that the several dimensions of education, because of class differentiation, are produced within contradictions and conflicts, which take specific points into account in their historical and social formations, according to the scientific and technical evolution of the instruments of production, and even the meaning of literacy in adult education goes far beyond the comprehension of linguistic signs, turning into a perspective of change and transformation of life.

Safety sign comprehension by students, adult workers and disabled persons with cerebral palsy

This research carried out comprehension testing on a set of symbol-based safety signs using three diverse groups of participants that included adult workers, college students and persons afflicted with cerebral palsy. Few studies have examined “differently abled” populations with respect to safety signs. Open comprehension testing of a set of 17 ISO (International Organization for Standardization) symbol-based safety signs was carried out using ISO 9186 criteria. The intended message for each safety sign was conveyed via two components, a graphical symbol and a surrounding shape–color background. Results showed that most of the signs were not well understood. In some cases, participants were able to correctly understand the meaning of the symbol, but failed to understand the meaning of the shape–color code or vice versa. In general, the adult workers and college students achieved higher comprehension scores than individuals with cerebral palsy. Despite the lower scores obtained by the cerebral palsy group, the pattern of comprehension levels for the “good” and “bad” signs were similar across the three groups. Other findings included statistically significant associations between comprehension and the individual/experience variables (e.g., age, gender, and have a driver’s license). Issues associated with categorizing participant responses, including the use of criteria for separately evaluating the meaning of the symbols and color–shape codes, are discussed.

Safety sign comprehension by students, adult workers and disabled persons with cerebral palsy

This research carried out comprehension testing on a set of symbol-based safety signs using three diverse groups of participants that included adult workers, college students and persons afflicted with cerebral palsy. Few studies have examined “differently abled” populations with respect to safety signs. Open comprehension testing of a set of 17 symbol-based safety signs was carried out using ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9186 criteria. The intended message for each safety sign was conveyed via two components, a graphical symbol and a surrounding shape–color background. Results showed that most of the signs were not well understood. In some cases, participants were able to correctly understand the meaning of the symbol, but failed to understand the meaning of the shape–color code or vice versa. In general, the adult workers and college students achieved higher comprehension scores than individuals with cerebral palsy. Despite the lower scores obtained by the cerebral palsy group, the pattern of comprehension levels for the “good” and “bad” signs were similar across the three groups. Other findings included statistically significant associations between comprehension and the individual/experience variables (e.g., age, gender, and have a driver’s license). Issues associated with categorizing participant responses, including the use of criteria for separately evaluating the meaning of the symbols and color–shape codes, are discussed.

Neural basis of action understanding: Evidence from sign language aphasia

Background: The neural basis of action understanding is a hotly debated issue. The mirror neuron account holds that motor simulation in fronto-parietal circuits is critical to action understanding including speech comprehension, while others emphasise the ventral stream in the temporal lobe. Evidence from speech strongly supports the ventral stream account, but on the other hand, evidence from manual gesture comprehension (e.g., in limb apraxia) has led to contradictory findings.Aims: Here we present a lesion analysis of sign language comprehension. Sign language is an excellent model for studying mirror system function in that it bridges the gap between the visual–manual system in which mirror neurons are best characterised and language systems which have represented a theoretical target of mirror neuron research.Methods & Procedures: Twenty-one life-long deaf signers with focal cortical lesions performed two tasks: one involving the comprehension of individual signs and the other involving comprehension of signed sentences (commands). Participants’ lesions, as indicated on MRI or CT scans, were mapped onto a template brain to explore the relationship between lesion location and sign comprehension measures.Outcomes & Results: Single sign comprehension was not significantly affected by left hemisphere damage. Sentence sign comprehension impairments were associated with left temporal–parietal damage. We found that damage to mirror system related regions in the left frontal lobe were not associated with deficits on either of these comprehension tasks.Conclusions: We conclude that the mirror system is not critically involved in action understanding.

The effect of context and ergonomic design of traffic signs on driver comprehension – a preliminary evaluation

A previous study found high and statistically significant correlations between the probability of compre-hending a traffic sign and the extent to which the sign complies with three ergonomic principles of design: sign-content compatibility, familiarity, and standardization. The current study examined whether providing participants with the context in which the sign is presented might help them understand the meaning of the sign. In addition, the study presented a preliminary attempt to overcome misunderstood and poorly unders-tood signs, according to two ergonomic guidelines (compatibility and standardization). Participants were presented with 20 local road signs, both with and without providing the context in which the signs were presented, and were asked to describe their meaning. In a second experiment, the most poorly understood signs were redesigned and driver comprehension was tested again, using a new set of participants. Results showed that context had a significant positive effect on sign comprehension, and partly showed an increase in driver understanding of signs as a result of ergonomic-based redesign.

Comprehension of traffic signs with symbolic versus text displays

ObjectiveTo evaluate the benefits of text and symbolic displays in highway signs relative to their familiarity on their comprehension speed and accuracy. BackgroundA recent study that evaluated the influence of ergonomic principles – familiarity, standardization, and symbol-concept compatibility – on traffic sign comprehension showed that comprehension is highly correlated with the compliance with these ergonomic design principles (Ben-Bassat & Shinar, 2006). As an alternative to existing unfamiliar symbolic signs we tested the effect of adding text. MethodDrivers were presented with 30 traffic signs varying in their level of familiarity in three display conditions: standard symbol-only, text-only, and symbol+text. Speed and accuracy of comprehension were recorded. ResultsDisplay condition and familiarity significantly affected both correctness of the answers and reaction time. Correctness improved when the symbol was shown with text, especially when the sign was less familiar. ConclusionsAdding text improves the comprehension and reduces the time it takes to comprehend the sign, especially of unfamiliar signs. ApplicationAdding text could be a simple solution to making (unfamiliar) signs more understandable to a greater segment of the driving population without compromising comprehension time, thereby increasing traffic safety.

The Signs of a Savant: Language against the Odds (review)

The Signs of a Savant: Language against the Odds, by Neil Smith, IanthiTsimpli, Gary Morgan, and Bencie Woll (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, 219 pp., ISBN 978-0-52185-227-2)THIS BOOK PRESENTS a case study of a middle-aged man named Christopher, an autistic savant who demonstrates an incredible ability to master multiple languages despite a below-average general IQ.The crux of this new book centers on a crucial question: How will an autistic man with a gift for languages and severe apraxia perform when taught signed language? As the study unfolds, we gain valuable insight into the modularity of the mind, particularly the cognitive and linguistic structures, which are intertwined.Based on nearly twenty years of empirical observations and psychometric tests of the subject's abilities, the first chapter introduces us to Christopher, whose early diagnosis revealed developmental difficulties that would produce delays in speech fluency and motor coordination. Christopher exhibited an extremely low nonverbal performance, with artistic IQ ability in the 40-60 range. However, his linguistic IQ in English - 120 - stands in stark contrast. Moreover, his severe apraxia results in poor performance in the copying of nonrepresentational gestures. Although he was able to recognize conventional gestures (e.g., brushing teeth), he was not able to make the appropriate movements when prompted. Such severe motor limitations in the face of his savant linguistic abilities have led the authors to investigate how Christopher will perform when given an opportunity to learn British Sign Language (BSL). After laying out important theoretical assumptions based on Chomskyan linguistics, modularity, and Baddeley's memory model, the chapter ends with well-specified predictions about how Christopher will perform in BSL. The authors predicted that Christopher's limited cognitive ability to tie iconic signs to their referents would hamper his acquisition of lexical signs. He was also expected to perform better on the comprehension of lexical signs and grammatical devices than with facial expressions and sign production due to his inability to maintain eye contact with the signer, his apraxia, and his linguistic savant abilities.The second chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the linguistic structure of BSL, covering the gamut of phonological, morphosyntactic, and facial elements of signed languages, as well as giving examples of signs that might be problematic for someone who avoids social eye contact (e.g., boss and god are distinguished only by direction of eyegaze) . The chapter tackles most of the critical literature on sign modality, iconicity sign language acquisition, and sign topography. Aside from a few references to Christopher's performance in digit-span recall using signed stimuli, the entire chapter appears to stand independently of the study of Christopher's foray into signed language learning.The third chapter, the methods section, details the training and data-collection phase of Christopher's signed language learning experience. Two hours a month of sign language learning for twelve months may not be an adequate training period for most learners, but it was more than twice the amount of time Christopher needed to master his other spoken languages. His training included morphosyntactic structures of signed languages such as topic markers, aspect morphology, nonmanual markers, verb locative agreement, and narratives involving multiple characters. Then he was tested at five different intervals for his comprehension and production of lexical signs and manual grammatical devices, as well as his performance on facial markers. To compare Christopher's BSL learning to normal second language learning of BSL, forty hearing volunteers were recruited to learn BSL using the same curriculum as Christopher's, albeit in onehour sessions over a twelve-week period.Chapter 4 evaluates Christopher's lexical and syntactic development and that of the comparison group. …

Comprehension of workplace safety signs: A case study in Shiraz industrial park

Comprehension of workplace safety signs: A case study in Shiraz industrial park

Deaf students’ metacognitive awareness during language comprehension

This study explored deaf and hearing university students’ metacognitive awareness with regard to comprehension difficulties during reading and classroom instruction. Utilising the Reading Awareness Inventory (Milholic, V. 1994. An inventory to pique students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Journal of Reading 38: 84–6), parallel inventories were created to tap metacognitive awareness during comprehension of sign language (deaf students) and spoken language (hearing students). Overall, both deaf and hearing students appeared to have greater metacognitive awareness of ongoing comprehension and repair strategies during reading than during instruction in the classroom, but deaf students scored lower than hearing students in both modalities. Deaf students were no more likely than hearing students to report adopting inappropriate strategies, but both groups indicated they were more likely to do so in classroom contexts than during reading.

Hazard sign comprehension among illiterate adults

CITATION: Nicol, A. & Tuomi, S. 2007. Hazard sign comprehension among illiterate adults. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, 37:67-88, doi:10.5774/37-0-18.

The Road to Language Learning Is Iconic

An arbitrary link between linguistic form and meaning is generally considered a universal feature of language. However, iconic (i.e., nonarbitrary) mappings between properties of meaning and features of linguistic form are also widely present across languages, especially signed languages. Although recent research has shown a role for sign iconicity in language processing, research on the role of iconicity in sign-language development has been mixed. In this article, we present clear evidence that iconicity plays a role in sign-language acquisition for both the comprehension and production of signs. Signed languages were taken as a starting point because they tend to encode a higher degree of iconic form-meaning mappings in their lexicons than spoken languages do, but our findings are more broadly applicable: Specifically, we hypothesize that iconicity is fundamental to all languages (signed and spoken) and that it serves to bridge the gap between linguistic form and human experience.

Comprehension of Posted Highway Traffic Signs in Iraq

Level of posted highway traffic signs (HTSs) comprehension by drivers is used to investigate the effectiveness of the posted HTSs in Iraq. Twenty four HTSs, different characteristics of drivers, and survey with questions of short answer and multiple-choice is selected for this aim. The study results show that there is an increase in the driver comprehension process of HTSs with the increasing of his level of education, level of urbanization of his residence and driving daily practice. Inverse relation occurred with the increasing of driver number of accidents. The results of this research show that it is very important to modify some of the HTSs so as to be easy for comprehending by making it more legible and more appropriateness, also it is recommended to educate drivers to raise there ability to understand the meanings of all the HTSs.

The Hospital to Home Quality Improvement Initiative

Hospital to Home (H2H) is a national quality improvement initiative designed to support efforts to reduce unnecessary cardiovascular-related hospital readmissions. Launched in 2009 by the American College of Cardiology and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, H2H acts as a clearinghouse for clinical providers and healthcare institutions to share strategies for optimizing transitions of care from the inpatient to the outpatient setting. The program centers around three core concepts: patient understanding of, and access to, medications; routine early follow-up with a healthcare provider following discharge; and comprehension of signs and symptoms that require medical attention, and how to seek urgent care in a timely manner. H2H has begun to offer toolkits, instructional webinars, and surveys to further develop these core concepts; it is also launching ‘challenge projects’ such as ‘Mind Your Meds’ or ‘See You in 7’. To date, there are more than 1,000 unique hospitals enrolled from all 50 states. Individuals and institutions can learn more by registering online (at www.h2hquality.org).

Comprehensibility of traffic signs among urban drivers in Turkey

Traffic signs are commonly used traffic safety tools, mainly developed to provide crucial information in a short time to support safe drive; but the success depends on their comprehensibility by the drivers. Also, a sudden change in the traditionally used and accepted signs can cause significant safety problem, as in the case of cancellation of red oblique bars in 2004 as a part of the European Union Harmonization Process of Turkey.Having a severe traffic safety problem in Turkey, a need to assess both the comprehensibility of internationally accepted traffic signs and current level of driver education, was the main motivation behind this study. A paper-based survey study in 2009 that reached a sample of 1478 urban drivers in the City of Ankara, focused on the determination of comprehensibility of 30 selected traffic signs, which are commonly used and critical for safety, including two recently changed signs. The meaning of each sign is sought using an open-ended question format to capture different levels and types of comprehensions, which enabled the detection of “opposite” and “partially correct” answers besides “wrong” and “correct” ones. High comprehensibility of 9 control group signs shows the validity of the study. The recently changed signs are among the oppositely associated ones proving the increased risk in traffic safety and need for more aggressive campaigning to publicize them.

Cognitive representation of the comprehension test of safety warnings using multivariate methods

This paper presents a multivariate method to assess the comprehension of safety signs. The proposed method uses the MDS and Procrustes, to obtain a consensus perceptual map. The results show that the map allowed discriminating signs with high levels of comprehension from others. The safety signs have no statistical difference as depicted by Bootstrap Analysis.

Evaluation of Comprehension and Legibility of International and Domestic Nonstandard Symbol Signs

This paper documents a research project that evaluated proposed new traffic signs to ensure that the signs were effective when human factors requirements were taken into consideration. The following sign messages were selected for symbol development and evaluation: combination horizontal alignment–advisory speed, congestion ahead, cross-street preferential lane warning, do not enter, do not pass, electric-vehicle charging station, fallen rocks, flagger ahead, low-shoulder warning, maximum width, no left turn ahead, railroad crossing on leg of roundabout, road narrows, survey crew, trolley crossing, uneven lanes, and winery. The team conducted 96 surveys to determine driver comprehension and legibility for each alternative sign design. The surveys were administered to the general driving public at the Turner–Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. On the basis of driver input and the results of the comprehension and legibility testing, the research team provided recommendations on symbols that should be included in the next edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.