Digital Hypertexts vs. Traditional Books: An Inquiry into Non-Linearity
The current study begins with an awareness that
today-s media environment is characterized by technological
development and a new way of reading caused by the introduction of
the Internet. The researcher conducted a meta analysis framed within
Technological Determinism to investigate the process of hypertext
reading, its differences from linear reading and the effects such
differences can have on people-s ways of mentally structuring their
world. The relationship between literacy and the comprehension
achieved by reading hypertexts is also investigated. The results show
hypertexts are not always user friendly. People experience hyperlinks
as interruptions that distract their attention generating comprehension
and disorientation. On one hand hypertextual jumping reading
generates interruptions that finally make people lose their
concentration. On the other hand hypertexts fascinate people who
would rather read a document in such a format even though the
outcome is often frustrating and affects their ability to elaborate and
retain information.
[1] A. Baricco, I barbari. Saggio sulla mutazione. Roma: Fandango Libri,
2006.
[2] S. Levy, The future of reading. Newsweek, November 26, 2007.
Retrieved January 18, 2009, from
www.newsweek.com/id/70983/output/print
[3] M. McLuhan, Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York:
Mentor, 1964
[4] W. Ong, Orality and Literacy. New York: Methuen, 1988.
[5] S. Brin an L. Page, The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual web
search engine, 1998. Retrieved January 18, 2009, from
http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html
[6] J. Quittner, Amazon Kindle Sales on the Rise? Time, July 9, 2008.
Retrieved January 18, 2009, from
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1821451,00.html
[7] M. Wolf, Proust and the squid. The story and science of the reading
brain. New York: Harper Perennial, 2007.
[8] T. Klingberg, The overflowing brain: information overload and the
limits of working memory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008
[9] B. Nordenson, Overload! Journalism's battle for relevance in an age of
too much information. Columbia Journalism Review, pp. 30-42,
November 2008.
[10] H. Innis, The bias of communication. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 1951.
[11] D.R. Olson, "Mass Media: A bricolage of paradigms," in Human
communication as a field of study, S. Senderson King Ed., Albany, NY:
State University of New York Press, 1989, pp. 57-86. Retrieved April
12, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=fRlXjUIr-
R8C&printsec=copyright&dq=innis+technological+determinism
[12] J. Straubhaar and R. LaRose, Media now, understanding media, culture
and technology, Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education, 2006.
[13] S.P. Ferris, "Writing electronically: The effects of computers on
traditional writing," Journal of Electronic Publishing, vol. 8 issue 1,
2002. Retrieved November 04, 2008 from University of Michigan Web
site http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/
[14] M. McAdams and S. Berger, "Hypertexts," Journal of Electronic
Publishing, vol. 6 issue 3, 2001.
[15] S. Birkerts, The Gutenberg elegies: The fate of reading in an electronic
age. Boston: Faber & Faber, 1994.
[16] I. Snyder, (1996). Hypertext: The electronic labyrinth, New York: New
York University Press.
[17] J.D. Bolter, Writing space: The computer, hypertext, and the history of
writing. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1991.
[18] H. Spires and T. Estes, "Reading in web-based learning environment,"
in Comprehension instruction: research-based best practices, C. Collins
Block and M. Pressley Eds., New York: The Guilford Press, 2002, pp.
115-125.
[19] C. Kumbruck, "Hypertext reading: Novice vs. expert reading," Journal
of Research in Reading, vol 21, issue 2, pp. 160-172, 1998.
[20] G.P. Landow, Hypertext 3.0. Critical theory and new media in an era of
globalization. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Retrieved February 16, 2008, from: http://books.google.com/books
[21] J. Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The future of narrative in
cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999.
[22] T. Harpold, "The contingencies of the hypertext link," in Writing on the
Edge: A Borderlands Reader, T. Miller, Ed., Tucson, AZ: University f
Arizona Press, 1991, pp. 126-137.
[23] D.R. Olson, The world on paper. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1994. Retrieved September 22, 2008 from
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3336451.0006.301
[24] W. Sutherland-Smith, "Weaving the literacy web: Changes in reading
from page to screen," The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, issue 7, pp. 662-
669, 2002.
[25] E. Dresang, and K. McClelland, "Radical change: Digital age literature
and learning," Theory Into Practice, vol 38, issue 3, pp. 160-167, 1999.
[26] J. Coiro, "Exploring literacy on the internet," The Reading Teacher, vol.
56, issue 5, pp. 458-464, 2003. Retrieved February 05, 2008, from
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=106&sid=d9969c68-
4fc0-4a71-8e5d-0afa437c9b5e%40sessionmgr107
[27] F. Wolf, "Meta-analysis: Quantitative Methods for Research Synthesis,"
Quantitative applications in the social sciences, vol. 7, issue 59, 1986.
[28] D.S. Miall and T. Dobson, "Reading hypertext and the experience of
literature," Journal of digital information, vol. 2, issue 1, 2001.
Retrieved October 10, 2008, from
http://jodi.tamu.edu/Articles/v02/i01/Miall/
[29] E.C. MacDonald, A comparison of students' use of surveying,
predicting, and setting purposes for reading as a reading comprehension
strategy in linear text and hypertext. Ed.D. dissertation, Widener Univ.,
PA, 2005. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses:
Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT 3167342).
[30] K. M. Hardy, Hypertext: Attraction and distraction. The effects of
hypertext link positioning and node content on inter-sentence
integration. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia Univ., New York, 2001.
Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text
database. (Publication No. AAT 3037895).
[31] M.R. Swanson, Fifth grade students- shifts in knowledge of hypertext
structure, Ed.D. dissertation, Oklahoma State Univ., OK, 2004.
Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text
database. (Publication No. AAT 3057311).
[32] J.S. Dail, Reading in an on-line hypertext environment: A case of study
of tenth-grade English students. Ed.D. dissertation, Florida State Univ.,
FL, 2004. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses:
Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT 3137357).
[1] A. Baricco, I barbari. Saggio sulla mutazione. Roma: Fandango Libri,
2006.
[2] S. Levy, The future of reading. Newsweek, November 26, 2007.
Retrieved January 18, 2009, from
www.newsweek.com/id/70983/output/print
[3] M. McLuhan, Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York:
Mentor, 1964
[4] W. Ong, Orality and Literacy. New York: Methuen, 1988.
[5] S. Brin an L. Page, The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual web
search engine, 1998. Retrieved January 18, 2009, from
http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html
[6] J. Quittner, Amazon Kindle Sales on the Rise? Time, July 9, 2008.
Retrieved January 18, 2009, from
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1821451,00.html
[7] M. Wolf, Proust and the squid. The story and science of the reading
brain. New York: Harper Perennial, 2007.
[8] T. Klingberg, The overflowing brain: information overload and the
limits of working memory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008
[9] B. Nordenson, Overload! Journalism's battle for relevance in an age of
too much information. Columbia Journalism Review, pp. 30-42,
November 2008.
[10] H. Innis, The bias of communication. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 1951.
[11] D.R. Olson, "Mass Media: A bricolage of paradigms," in Human
communication as a field of study, S. Senderson King Ed., Albany, NY:
State University of New York Press, 1989, pp. 57-86. Retrieved April
12, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=fRlXjUIr-
R8C&printsec=copyright&dq=innis+technological+determinism
[12] J. Straubhaar and R. LaRose, Media now, understanding media, culture
and technology, Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education, 2006.
[13] S.P. Ferris, "Writing electronically: The effects of computers on
traditional writing," Journal of Electronic Publishing, vol. 8 issue 1,
2002. Retrieved November 04, 2008 from University of Michigan Web
site http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/
[14] M. McAdams and S. Berger, "Hypertexts," Journal of Electronic
Publishing, vol. 6 issue 3, 2001.
[15] S. Birkerts, The Gutenberg elegies: The fate of reading in an electronic
age. Boston: Faber & Faber, 1994.
[16] I. Snyder, (1996). Hypertext: The electronic labyrinth, New York: New
York University Press.
[17] J.D. Bolter, Writing space: The computer, hypertext, and the history of
writing. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1991.
[18] H. Spires and T. Estes, "Reading in web-based learning environment,"
in Comprehension instruction: research-based best practices, C. Collins
Block and M. Pressley Eds., New York: The Guilford Press, 2002, pp.
115-125.
[19] C. Kumbruck, "Hypertext reading: Novice vs. expert reading," Journal
of Research in Reading, vol 21, issue 2, pp. 160-172, 1998.
[20] G.P. Landow, Hypertext 3.0. Critical theory and new media in an era of
globalization. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Retrieved February 16, 2008, from: http://books.google.com/books
[21] J. Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The future of narrative in
cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999.
[22] T. Harpold, "The contingencies of the hypertext link," in Writing on the
Edge: A Borderlands Reader, T. Miller, Ed., Tucson, AZ: University f
Arizona Press, 1991, pp. 126-137.
[23] D.R. Olson, The world on paper. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1994. Retrieved September 22, 2008 from
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3336451.0006.301
[24] W. Sutherland-Smith, "Weaving the literacy web: Changes in reading
from page to screen," The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, issue 7, pp. 662-
669, 2002.
[25] E. Dresang, and K. McClelland, "Radical change: Digital age literature
and learning," Theory Into Practice, vol 38, issue 3, pp. 160-167, 1999.
[26] J. Coiro, "Exploring literacy on the internet," The Reading Teacher, vol.
56, issue 5, pp. 458-464, 2003. Retrieved February 05, 2008, from
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=106&sid=d9969c68-
4fc0-4a71-8e5d-0afa437c9b5e%40sessionmgr107
[27] F. Wolf, "Meta-analysis: Quantitative Methods for Research Synthesis,"
Quantitative applications in the social sciences, vol. 7, issue 59, 1986.
[28] D.S. Miall and T. Dobson, "Reading hypertext and the experience of
literature," Journal of digital information, vol. 2, issue 1, 2001.
Retrieved October 10, 2008, from
http://jodi.tamu.edu/Articles/v02/i01/Miall/
[29] E.C. MacDonald, A comparison of students' use of surveying,
predicting, and setting purposes for reading as a reading comprehension
strategy in linear text and hypertext. Ed.D. dissertation, Widener Univ.,
PA, 2005. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses:
Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT 3167342).
[30] K. M. Hardy, Hypertext: Attraction and distraction. The effects of
hypertext link positioning and node content on inter-sentence
integration. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia Univ., New York, 2001.
Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text
database. (Publication No. AAT 3037895).
[31] M.R. Swanson, Fifth grade students- shifts in knowledge of hypertext
structure, Ed.D. dissertation, Oklahoma State Univ., OK, 2004.
Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text
database. (Publication No. AAT 3057311).
[32] J.S. Dail, Reading in an on-line hypertext environment: A case of study
of tenth-grade English students. Ed.D. dissertation, Florida State Univ.,
FL, 2004. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses:
Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT 3137357).
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:60711", author = "Federica Fornaciari", title = "Digital Hypertexts vs. Traditional Books: An Inquiry into Non-Linearity", abstract = "The current study begins with an awareness that
today-s media environment is characterized by technological
development and a new way of reading caused by the introduction of
the Internet. The researcher conducted a meta analysis framed within
Technological Determinism to investigate the process of hypertext
reading, its differences from linear reading and the effects such
differences can have on people-s ways of mentally structuring their
world. The relationship between literacy and the comprehension
achieved by reading hypertexts is also investigated. The results show
hypertexts are not always user friendly. People experience hyperlinks
as interruptions that distract their attention generating comprehension
and disorientation. On one hand hypertextual jumping reading
generates interruptions that finally make people lose their
concentration. On the other hand hypertexts fascinate people who
would rather read a document in such a format even though the
outcome is often frustrating and affects their ability to elaborate and
retain information.", keywords = "Hypertext reading, Internet, non-linearity.", volume = "3", number = "6", pages = "1105-18", }
