This article describes the Descriptive Video Service (DVS), developed by WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, to provide narrated descriptions of the key visual elements of television programs without interfering with their audio or dialogue. The article discusses the history of DVS, broadcast tests, reactions to DVS, and the future of DVS.…

This paper discusses audible traffic signals (ATS) and their use by visually impaired pedestrians in the United States and other countries. Areas of concern are noted, including the types of intersections at which ATS should be installed, the locations of poles and buttons for activating the system, and the specific type of device used.…

Explains how the ear and the brain work together to make music listening possible. Argues good hearing does not ensure skilled listening, stressing that listening is a mental process. Examines the aural process and properties of sound, and describes listening behaviors within the basic levels of auditory processing. Provides a guide for teaching…

Compared the processing of rapid auditory stimuli on two-tone auditory discrimination tasks by 7- to 11-year-olds with learning impairments (LI) and those without learning impairments (non-LI). Found that LI children committed more errors, but the effects of timing were comparable. Obtained same results with a sample of good and poor readers. Task…

Reports on the perceptual discrimination of segmental and suprasegmental phones by Japanese learners of English. Results reveal that early learners showed better discrimination performance than normal learners and confirmed the usefulness of learning English at an early age. (16 references) (Author/CK)

This article discusses the results of a case study that investigated the effectiveness of an auditory prompting system, using earphones and a cassette, to improve on-task job performance of an adult with mild mental retardation. Guidelines for working with adults and student to improve job and task performance are provided. (Contains references.)…

The article describes a unit for seventh-grade students, using children's literature to teach visual, auditory, and algebraic patterns. (Contains 7 figures.)

Students with multiple disabilities, such as severe to profound mental retardation combined with motor and visual impairment, are usually unable to engage in constructive activity or play a positive role in their daily context. Microswitches are technical tools that may help them improve their status by allowing them to control environmental…

The Wada test is at present the method of choice for preoperative assessment of patients who require surgery close to cortical language areas. It is, however, an invasive test with an attached morbidity risk. By now, an alternative to the Wada test is to combine a lexical word generation paradigm with non-invasive imaging techniques. However,…

Students with low language aptitude have been found to have poor powers of auditory discrimination. To date, programed language instruction has relied on audio confirmation of oral response. A study was conducted to determine the value of adding visual confirmation to the audio model. A total of 170 experimental and 140 control students in second…

The result of a number of experiemental studies of human auditory and visual information processing behavior and their possible relationship to the student pilot's acquisition of flying skill were explored in terms of a conceptual model developed for this study. The results were interpreted in terms of the potential interfering effects of the…

This study concerns the diffraction of sound around flexible partitions used in teaching spaces. It includes a comprehensive study of the acoustical conditions in several school buildings in India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. The noise reduction properties of some typical partitions the minimum height of the partition between two teaching…

For research into the usefulness of attention-gaining devices in informational films, five film versions on machine shop measuring instruments were produced. These versions were termed: basic, visual relevant, visual irrelevant, sound relevant, and sound irrelevant. Attention-gaining devices were placed at the same points in all but the basic…

A study was conducted with disadvantaged second-graders to test the value of oral reading of literature for increasing reading achievement, presenting books as a source of pleasure, and strengthening vocabulary by offering wider language models than the disadvantaged child's milieu provides. Teachers in the experimental group read, orally, a story…

Data were collected regarding the problem of the effects of the Human Development Program procedures on the generation of linguistic tools for the written expression of feelings. Two classes of elementary students participated in the experiment, one a sixth grade of denied children and the other a fifth grade identified as gifted on an…