Purpose: The change/no-change procedure (J. E. Sussman & A. E. Carney, 1989), which assesses speech discrimination, has been used under the assumption that the number of stimulus presentations does not influence performance. Motivated by the tenets of the multiple looks hypothesis (N. F. Viemeister & G. H. Wakefield, 1991), work by R. F. Holt and…

Sound provides and offers amazing insights into the world. Sound waves may be defined as mechanical energy that moves through air or other medium as a longitudinal wave and consists of pressure fluctuations. Humans and animals alike use sound as a means of communication and a tool for survival. Mammals, such as bats, use ultrasonic sound waves to…

Speakers employ acoustic cues (pitch accents) to indicate that a word is important, but may also use visual cues (beat gestures, head nods, eyebrow movements) for this purpose. Even though these acoustic and visual cues are related, the exact nature of this relationship is far from well understood. We investigate whether producing a visual beat…

Results are presented from an auditory and acoustic analysis of the speech of an adult male with impaired prosody and articulation due to brain haemorrhage. They show marked effects on phonation, speech rate and articulator velocity, and a speech rhythm disrupted by "intrusive" stresses. These effects are discussed in relation to the speaker's…

Purpose: The effects of multichannel expansion on the objective and subjective evaluation of 20 listeners fitted binaurally with 4-channel, digital in-the-ear hearing instruments were investigated. Method: Objective evaluations were conducted in quiet using the Connected Speech Test (CST) and in noise using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) at 40,…

Detailed explanations of the studio techniques used in radio, record, television, and film sound production are presented in as non-technical language as possible. An introductory chapter discusses the physics and physiology of sound. Subsequent chapters detail standards for sound control in the studio; explain the planning and routine of a sound…

Investigates the effects of acoustic similarity on memory span in 112 children four to 10 years of age. Acoustic similarity had progressively more effect on recall with increasing age. Implications for current theories of short-term memory and its development and for the use of acoustic similarity as an indicator of speech coding are discussed.…

Aim: To compare the occurrence of neurological soft signs (NSS) in children with specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills (SDDSS) and normal children. Methods: 36 cases of SDDSS were compared with 30 control children regarding sociodemographic and clinical variables and neurological soft signs. Results: Children with SDDSS had…

To segment continuous speech into its component words, listeners make use of language rhythm; because rhythm differs across languages, so do the segmentation procedures which listeners use. For each of stress-, syllable-and mora-based rhythmic structure, perceptual experiments have led to the discovery of corresponding segmentation procedures. In…

Thirty infants from monolingual Spanish-speaking homes were tested for discrimination of bilabial stop consonants differing in voice onset time (VOT). Discrimination was determined by the habituation and dishabituation of the orienting reflex as indexed by cardiac deceleration. (Author/GO)

Results of research to limit or expand identification of vowel frequency bands show that [i], [a], and [u] sounds are highly recognizable when filtered through a single frequency zone, but that other vowels under the same conditions are less easily recognized than those obtained by the direct channel. (Author/MSE)

THE NATION'S SCHOOLS SCHOOL OF THE MONTH IS A BUILDING DESIGNED WITH AN OPEN INTERIOR. THERE ARE NO SEPARATE CLASSROOMS. THE MAIN SPACE IS DIVIDED INTO THREE LEARNING AREAS, PRACTICAL ARTS, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND COMMONS. FLEXIBLE PARTITIONS AND MOBILE CHALKBOARDS ACT AS VISUAL BARRIERS TO LIMIT DISTRACTIONS WHILE CARPETING AND ACOUSTIC BAFFLES…

Information concerning the following considerations in the selection of carpeting for educational facilities is given--(1) characteristics of face yarns, pile, backing and underlayment, (2) carpet construction, (3) acoustical properties, (4) heat transfer properties, (5) fungistatic and bacteriostatic characteristics, (6) cost, and (7)…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the correlations of residue features with some perceptual properties of voice disorders. Results suggested that residue features may be useful in assessing the degree of vocal impairment, but use of residue features as correlates of voice quality requires further research. (Author/DB)