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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2019

Dania Bilal and Li-Min Huang

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the readability and level of word complexity of search engine results pages (SERPs) snippets and associated web pages between Google and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the readability and level of word complexity of search engine results pages (SERPs) snippets and associated web pages between Google and Bing.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed the Readability Test Tool to analyze the readability and word complexity of 3,000 SERPs snippets and 3,000 associated pages in Google and Bing retrieved on 150 search queries issued by middle school children.

Findings

A significant difference was found in the readability of SERPs snippets and associated web pages between Google and Bing. A significant difference was also observed in the number of complex words in snippets between the two engines but not in associated web pages. At the engine level, the readability of Google and Bing snippets was significantly higher than associated web pages. The readability of Google SERPs snippets was at a much higher level than those of Bing. The readability of snippets in both engines mismatched with the reading comprehension of children in grades 6–8.

Research limitations/implications

The data corpus may be small. Analysis relied on quantitative measures.

Practical implications

Practitioners and other mediators should mitigate the readability issue in SERPs snippets. Researchers should consider text readability and word complexity simultaneously with other factors to obtain the nuanced understanding of young users’ web information behaviors. Additional theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

Originality/value

This study measured the readability and the level of word complexity embedded in SERPs snippets and compared them to respective web pages in Google and Bing. Findings provide further evidence of the readability issue of SERPs snippets and the need to solve this issue through system design improvements.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 71 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Anete Pajuste, Elva Poriete and Reinis Novickis

This paper explores how the text complexity and content of management discussion and analysis (MD&A) relate to earnings management in Baltic listed companies.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores how the text complexity and content of management discussion and analysis (MD&A) relate to earnings management in Baltic listed companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a panel data set of 250 firm-year observations from the Baltic markets in the period 2012–2016, this paper uses linear regression analysis to examine the relation between earnings management and reporting complexity.

Findings

The results show that earnings could be managed in about 6–11% of firm-years, depending on specification, and there is a positive relationship between earnings management and reporting complexity; however, this relationship is confined to more liquid companies. The authors argue that higher scrutiny by market participants in more liquid companies incentivizes managers to obfuscate negative financial results through report complexity.

Originality/value

This paper presents a novel application of the opportunistic perspective of positive accounting theory (PAT) in relation to managers' choice of reporting complexity. The findings of this paper contribute by providing empirical evidence for strategic reporting by managers and can be useful for regulators and investors that should monitor the level of reporting complexity in the listed companies.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2022

Dan Reynolds

Researchers and teachers have noted the power of students reading text sets or multiple texts on the same topic, and numerous articles have been published with examples of and…

Abstract

Purpose

Researchers and teachers have noted the power of students reading text sets or multiple texts on the same topic, and numerous articles have been published with examples of and frameworks for text set construction. This study aims to traces the theoretical assumptions of these frameworks and explores their distinct implications and tensions for understanding disciplinary literacy in English language arts (ELA).

Design/methodology/approach

The author draws on three frameworks, using a focal article for each: cognitive (Lupo et al., 2018), critical (Lechtenberg, 2018) and disciplinary (Levine et al., 2018), and connect those articles to other research studies in that tradition. Separately, the author describes each of the three text set frameworks’ design principles. Then, across frameworks, the author analyze the disciplinary assumptions around each framework’s centering texts, epistemological goals and trajectories.

Findings

The centering text, goals and trajectories of each framework reflect its underlying epistemological lens. All frameworks include a text that serves as its epistemological center and the cognitive and disciplinary frameworks, both rely on progressions of complexity (knowledge/linguistic and literary, respectively). The author traces additional alignments and tensions between the frameworks and offer suggestions for possible hybridities in reading modality and reading volume.

Originality/value

Many articles have been written about models of text set construction, but few have compared the assumptions behind those models. Examining these assumptions may help English teachers and curriculum designers select texts and build curriculum that leverages the strengths of each model and informs researchers’ understanding of disciplinary literacy in ELA.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 June 2020

Jamal Al Qundus, Adrian Paschke, Shivam Gupta, Ahmad M. Alzouby and Malik Yousef

The purpose of this paper is to explore to which extent the quality of social media short text without extensions can be investigated and what are the predictors, if any, of such…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore to which extent the quality of social media short text without extensions can be investigated and what are the predictors, if any, of such short text that lead to trust its content.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper applies a trust model to classify data collections based on metadata into four classes: Very Trusted, Trusted, Untrusted and Very Untrusted. These data are collected from the online communities, Genius and Stack Overflow. In order to evaluate short texts in terms of its trust levels, the authors have conducted two investigations: (1) A natural language processing (NLP) approach to extract relevant features (i.e. Part-of-Speech and various readability indexes). The authors report relatively good performance of the NLP study. (2) A machine learning technique in more precise, a random forest (RF) classifierusing bag-of-words model (BoW).

Findings

The investigation of the RF classifier using BoW shows promising intermediate results (on average 62% accuracy of both online communities) in short-text quality identification that leads to trust.

Practical implications

As social media becomes an increasingly new and attractive source of information, which is mostly provided in the form of short texts, businesses (e.g. in search engines for smart data) can filter content without having to apply complex approaches and continue to deal with information that is considered more trustworthy.

Originality/value

Short-text classifications with regard to a criterion (e.g. quality, readability) are usually extended by an external source or its metadata. This enhancement either changes the original text if it is an additional text from an external source, or it requires text metadata that is not always available. To this end, the originality of this study faces the challenge of investigating the quality of short text (i.e. social media text) without having to extend or modify it using external sources. This modification alters the text and distorts the results of the investigation.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2019

Yu-Tzu Chang and Dan N. Stone

This paper aims to introduce the emerging artificial-intelligence-based readability metrics (Coh-Metrix) to examine the effects of firm size on audit proposal readability.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce the emerging artificial-intelligence-based readability metrics (Coh-Metrix) to examine the effects of firm size on audit proposal readability.

Design/methodology/approach

Coh-Metrix readability measures use emerging computation linguistics technology to better assess document readability. These metrics measure co-relations of words, sentences and paragraphs on multi-dimensions rather than adopting the unidimensional “bag of words” approach that examines words in isolation. Using eight Coh-Metrix orthogonal principal component factors, the authors analyze the Chang and Stone (2019) data set comprised of 370 hand-collected audit proposals submitted by audit firms for the US state and local governments’ audit service contracts.

Findings

Audit firm size has a significant impact on the readability of audit proposals. Specifically, as measured by the traditional readability metric, the proposals from smaller firms are more readable than those submitted by larger firms. Furthermore, decomposed readability metrics indicate that smaller firm proposals evidence stronger (deep) text cohesion, whereas larger firm proposals evidence a stronger narrative structure and higher connectivity (relational indicators) among proposal elements. Unlike the traditional readability metric, however, the emergent readability metrics are uncorrelated with auditor selection.

Research limitations/implications

Work remains to develop and validate Coh-Metrix measures that are specific to the context of accounting and auditing practice. Future research can use emerging readability measures to examine various textual features (e.g. text cohesion) in finance or accounting related documents.

Practical implications

The results provide practitioners with insight into the proposal writing strategies and practices of larger and smaller firms. In addition, the results highlight the differing audit firm selection outcomes from traditional and Coh-Metrix readability metrics.

Originality/value

This study introduces new data and holistic readability measures to the auditing literature.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 December 2022

Yiming Lu, Yi-Na Li and Jiuchang Wei

Online knowledge communities have emerged as crucial places for knowledge and risk management in the face of systemic risks. The vitality of online knowledge communities requires…

Abstract

Purpose

Online knowledge communities have emerged as crucial places for knowledge and risk management in the face of systemic risks. The vitality of online knowledge communities requires users’ active engagement. This research paper aims to explore how text complex level and text analytic level as effective risk knowledge design leverages encourage users’ engagement under different “riskification” levels.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper performs linguistic analysis on 210 TED talk transcripts and 38,377 comments from 2002 to 2018. The authors construct the variable of text complex level and conduct ordinary least squares regressions to test the relationships among text complex level, text analytic level and user engagement under different levels of “riskification” in the online knowledge community.

Findings

High text complex level decreases engagement, while high text analytic level increases engagement. A high level of “riskification” exaggerates the negative effect of text complex level but diminishes the positive effect of the text analytic level.

Originality/value

This research advances knowledge management by highlighting users’ engagement and responding to shared risk knowledge from a different perspective than knowledge supply. The focus on risk communication in online knowledge communities broadens the scope of knowledge management literature beyond the confines of organizations. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first studies to propose risk knowledge design approaches for communicating systemic risks.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2022

Allison H. Hall and Susan R. Goldman

This paper aims to examine the extent to which students’ experiences and perceptions of their literature classroom align with their teacher’s instructional goals for literary…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the extent to which students’ experiences and perceptions of their literature classroom align with their teacher’s instructional goals for literary inquiry and what teachers can learn from gaining access to students’ perspectives on their classroom experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

Thematic analyses were used to examine the data sources: mid-year and end-of-year interviews with six students, audio recordings of the teacher’s rationale for her instructional designs and a reflective discussion with the teacher upon reading the student interviews three years later.

Findings

Much of what the teacher intended students to get out of her instruction was what they expressed learning and experiencing in the class, yet some understood the purpose of the class to be far from her intentions. All the interviewed students had deeply personal and varied ways of relating what they learned in class to the world and their own lives. The teacher’s reflection on the interviews highlighted the importance of making space for multiple meanings and perspectives on literary works.

Originality/value

This paper speaks to the importance of surfacing students’ individual and varied ways of making sense of literary texts as part of instruction that values students’ thinking as well as the epistemic commitments of literary reading.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 May 2013

Evan Ortlieb, Wolfram Verlaan and Earl H. Cheek

Purpose – To provide educators with an overview of both generalized and specific comprehension strategies applicable to the content areas.Design/methodology/approach – The chapter…

Abstract

Purpose – To provide educators with an overview of both generalized and specific comprehension strategies applicable to the content areas.Design/methodology/approach – The chapter is organized by (a) providing a rationale for incorporating reading strategy instruction, especially at the adolescent grade range and above; (b) discussing reading strategies that are appropriate for all content areas; and (c) describing reading strategies that can be used in specific content area subjects.Findings – Research-based strategies for scaffolding comprehension in content area subjects are presented in varying levels of detail.Research limitations/implications – The strategies discussed in this chapter do not constitute an exhaustive list of strategies or approaches to content area literacy instruction.Practical implications – This is a valuable resource for educators to obtain practical guidance in providing content area reading instruction for a wide range of student ages and abilities.Originality/value of chapter – This chapter provides significant research-based information for designing and implementing content area strategy instruction.

Details

School-Based Interventions for Struggling Readers, K-8
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-696-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 February 2023

Ginger G. Collins and Stephanie F. Reid

This chapter details how engaging students in digital comics creation might support adolescents in strengthening their narrative writing capabilities. This chapter first provides…

Abstract

This chapter details how engaging students in digital comics creation might support adolescents in strengthening their narrative writing capabilities. This chapter first provides a more detailed explanation of the micro and macrostructural elements involved in narrative production. Second, the chapter provides an introduction to comics and important design features. The authors also illuminate the complexity of multimodal texts (texts that combine images and words) and link visual narrative pedagogy and curriculum to classroom equity and accessibility. Across these opening sections, academic standards are referenced to show how the comics medium aligns with national visions of what robust English Language Arts education entails. The chapter concludes with descriptions of specific pedagogical strategies and digital comic-making tools that teachers and interventionists might explore with students within various classroom contexts. Examples of digital comics designed using various web tools are also shared.

Details

Using Technology to Enhance Special Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-651-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 December 2021

Mostafa Kamal Hassan, Bassam Abu-Abbas and Hany Kamel

The authors investigate the impact of disclosure tones and financial risk on the readability of annual reports in the banking sector. The authors also examine the moderating…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors investigate the impact of disclosure tones and financial risk on the readability of annual reports in the banking sector. The authors also examine the moderating effect of banks' financial risk on the tone–readability relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on the agency theory and the social psychology theory to formulate its testable hypotheses and explain the empirical findings. It uses a sample of 390 bank-year observations from banks listed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Stock Exchanges during the period 2014–2019. It also employs random effect regressions to analyze the data and to examine the reverse causality/endogeneity in order to obtain robust findings.

Findings

This study’s results demonstrate that easy (difficult) to read annual reports is significantly associated with positive (negative) tone. Bank managers characterized as “too positive/optimistic” and banks with higher financial risks publish less readable annual reports. The results also show that the interaction between negative tone and a bank's financial risk is inversely associated with reading difficulty, indicating that managers prepare easy text to clarify causes of their banks’ high risks, yet they communicate this easy text with a negative tone that reflects their feelings/emotions towards the financial risks of their banks.

Practical implications

This study’s findings call for the use of a plain English text that bears a neutral tone and urge financial analysts to go beyond the financial aspects of annual reports. They also stimulate policymakers to draft policies, which ensure the presence of audit committee members who possess a broad expertise to uncover the linguistic issues embedded in the annual reports.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study dedicated to exploring the tone–readability association in the GCC's banking sector.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

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