Purpose: Understanding speech often involves processing input from multiple modalities. The availability of visual information may make auditory input less critical for comprehension. This study examines whether the auditory system is sensitive to the presence of complementary sources of input when exerting top-down control over the amplification…

School-age children's understanding of unfamiliar accents is not adult-like and the age at which this ability fully matures is unknown. To address this gap, eight- to fifteen-year-old children's (n = 74) understanding of native- and non-native-accented sentences in quiet and noise was assessed. Children's performance was adult-like by eleven to…

In 1848 New Orleans, Louisiana pianist and composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk composed "La Bamboula (Danse des Nègres), Op. 2". My discussion centers on the relationship Gottschalk had with the African diasporic musical tradition denoted as the bamboula. I present an analysis of two narratives chronicling Gottschalk's relationship with the…

Acoustics in schools have been studied during years, but nowadays there are more possibilities than ever before to introduce improvements. This study presents a systematic literature review determining what acoustic parameters are present in classrooms and how they affect both teachers and students. Following the analysis, we put forward a…

Background: The articulatory accuracy of patients with dysarthria is one of the most affected speech dimensions with a high impact on speech intelligibility. Behavioural treatments of articulation can either involve direct or indirect approaches. The latter have been thoroughly investigated and are generally appreciated for their almost immediate…

Noise hypersensitivity is a poorly understood symptom of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For some, problem behaviors co-occur with the aversive noise. Limited literature exists on treating noise hypersensitivity; however, noise hypersensitivity may be related to a specific phobia. This case study utilizes modified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy…

Game-based learning in science education is an effective method to enhance students' motivation, active participation, and conceptual understanding of the scientific knowledge. This study aimed to encourage teachers to develop and use game-based activities related to the concepts of light and sound and to present students' views about the games…

Purpose: The aims of this study were: (1) to quantify variability in voice production (as measured acoustically) within and across consecutive days in vocally healthy female speakers; (2) to identify which acoustic measures are sensitive to this variability; and (3) to identify participant characteristics related to such voice variability. Method:…

Excessive noise levels in early childhood centres have a direct impact on the learning of young children, as well as on the wellbeing of teachers. Psycho-acoustic studies show that noise is a key factor contributing to elevated adult stress levels and annoyance, leading to lower levels of adult sensitivity to children's needs and fewer direct…

Engineering design process-oriented STEM activities are activities that involve solving a real-world problem with teamwork by using integrative engineering design and engineering applications using scientific and mathematical concepts and 21st century skills. The research aimed to examine the effects of engineering design process-oriented STEM…

Narrative accounts of classroom instruction suggest that external interruptions, such as intercom announcements and visits from staff, are a regular occurrence in U.S. public schools. We study the frequency, nature, duration, and consequences of external interruptions in the Providence Public School District (PPSD) using original data from a…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the feasibility of streamlining the transcription and scoring portion of language sample analysis (LSA) through computer-automation. LSA is a gold-standard procedure for examining childrens' language abilities that is underutilized by speech language pathologists due to its time-consuming nature. To…

Classic typologies within prosody tend to treat 'tone' languages as being diametrically opposed to 'stress' languages. However, Hyman (2006) highlights several languages that can have both, including Seneca, Fasu, and Copala Trique. As language documentation advances and our acoustic methodologies in the field are further refined, we have seen…

There is a general consensus in theories of human speech recognition that humans engage in predictive processing during online speech processing. There are also claims that predictive processing indicates the operation of a predictive coding (PC) mechanism (Rao & Ballard, 1999). Formally, PC is a generative model where top-down signals consist…

The motor speech disorder of dysarthria is present in a substantial number of children with cerebral palsy (CP), leading to speech intelligibility deficits, which may negatively affect the children's communication and quality of life. Few studies to date have examined strategies for increasing intelligibility in children with dysarthria, and most…