bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Nonspeaking and Speaking Mentally Retarded Adults' Clarification Strategies
Authors: Calculator Stephen N. , Delaney Dianne
Published: July 2014

Interactions between speaking and nonspeaking persons using communication boards have frequently been found to be plagued by conversational breakdowns. Previous investigators, drawing upon anecdotal evidence, have painted a scenario in which the nonspeaker confuses the listener by transmitting an ambiguous message, the listener then requests clarification, the nonspeaker fails to clarify, and the discourse is abruptly terminated.

The present study examined 5 speaking and 5 nonspeaking moderately-severely mentally retarded subjects' responses to their Listeners' requests for clarification. An informal conversational format was used to evoke 40 possible repairs from each subject. Few differences were noted with respect to the ways in which speaking and nonspeaking subjects revised or failed to revise their messages. Both groups were highly responsive to their listeners' requests for clarification; subjects rarely ignored or changed the topic of discourse following these listener requests. However, unlike previous reports of nonretarded normally developing language-disordered children operating at comparable mental and linguistic levels, these speaking and nonspeaking subjects generally repeated their ambiguous messages rather than revising them. The results indicated the need to develop techniques for teaching speaking and nonspeaking retarded adults alternate methods of repairing conversational breakdowns.
Matching Commercial Hearing Aids to Prescriptive Gain and Maximum Output Requirements
Authors: Punch Jerry L.
Published: July 2014

Insertion gain and saturation sound pressure level (SSPL) characteristics of 71 behind-the-ear hearing aids were evaluated in a computer-assisted analysis as acceptable matches to prescriptive insertion gain and SSPL values derived by a variation of the Prescription of Gain and Output, or POGO, technique (McCandless & Lyregaard, 1983). Stringency criteria in a primary analysis varied from ±6 to ±16 dB and ±2 to ±8 dB for gain and SSPL, respectively. Three audiometric contours and associated loudness discomfort levels were used in the simulation. Findings indicated that the relationship between tolerances and the number of aids selected as optimally appropriate varied substantially as a function of audiometric configuration. Minimum gain and SSPL tolerance values of ±12 dB and ±4 dB, respectively, were required to provide a reasonable choice of instruments for a variety of such configurations. Further analyses shed light on the feasibility of using alternative stringency criteria and on the clinical utility of hearing aid selection using small clinic samples.
An Assessment of Cognitive Abilities in Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Preschool Children
Authors: Bond Gayle Goldstein
Published: July 2014

There have been many investigations of cognitive development in older hearing-impaired children, but few with preschool hearing-impaired children. The performance of 40 hearing and 40 hearing-impaired children of preschool age (2 ½ to 5 ½ years) was compared on five nonverbal cognitive tasks and three subtests from the Perceptual Performance subscale of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (1972). For this set of tasks there was a significant effect of age consistent with a developmental change. A one-way MANCOVA on all dependent measures with age as the covariate revealed no significant differences between the hearing-impaired and hearing children. The results suggest that despite a deficiency in language abilities, the cognitive development of young hearing-impaired children is comparable to that of hearing children of the same age.
Developmental Influences in Teaching Language Forms to Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Dyer Kathleen , Santarcangelo Suzanne , Luce Stephen C.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this experiment was to test the assumption that the sequencing of language goals for individuals with developmental disabilities should be based on the normal developmental sequence. In a series of two studies, phonetic sounds and syntactic structures representing different levels of normal development were taught to individuals with developmental disabilities. The results showed that (a) the majority of earlier emerging forms were acquired in fewer trials, (b) there was never an instance when the later emerging form was acquired and the earlier emerging form was not, and (c) the majority of earlier emerging forms were correctly produced at higher levels than the later emerging forms during probe sessions conducted 6 months after training. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the development of language curricula for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Tone in Thai Alaryngeal Speech
Authors: Gandour Jack , Weinberg Bernd , Petty Soranee Holasuit , Dardarananda Rochana
Published: July 2014

The perception and production of linguistic tone was investigated in utterances spoken by Thai alaryngeal speakers. Thai is a tone language with five phonemic tones. High-quality tape recordings of five monosyllabic words produced by 2 esophageal, 1 electrolaryngeal, and 5 normal, native Thai speakers were subjected to perceptual and acoustic analysis. Results from the phonemic identification tests indicated that tones produced by alaryngeal speakers were not only perceived at much lower levels of accuracy than those produced by normal speakers, but the patterns of tonal confusions for alaryngeal speakers were also dissimilar to those for normal speakers. Results from fundamental frequency (F
o
) analysis revealed that the performance deficit of alaryngeal speakers could be related to specific characteristics of their F
o
contours. Findings are interpreted to highlight the importance of (a) language, (b) type of prosody, (c) form of alaryngeal speech, and (d) F
o
level and direction on linguistic assessments of F
o
control in alaryngeal speech.
Correlations between Hearing Thresholds and Caloric Responses Among a Heterogeneous Sample of Dizzy Patients
Authors: Formby C. , Hixson-Robles C. , Singleton G. T.
Published: July 2014

Auditory and vestibular function were compared in a heterogeneous sample of dizzy patients (
N
= 52). Hearing thresholds for the conventional audiometric frequencies were measured for each patient and parceled into two frequency ranges, 0.25–1 kHz and 2–8 kHz. Hearing thresholds also were measured for each patient over an extended high-frequency range that included the frequencies 10, 12, and 14 kHz. Bithermal caloric responses for these patients were available and were grouped for unilateral weakness (UW) or no unilateral weakness (NOUW). Hearing thresholds ipsilateral to the side of unilateral weakness (UW) yielded significant (
p
< .05) modest correlations (
r
= .39–.52) with UW for all three audiometric frequency ranges (
N
= 35). These findings do not suggest a strong tonotopic relation between the audiometric and UW data. Hearing thresholds for the frequency range 10–14 kHz, but not for the conventional audiometric frequencies, correlated with slow-phase eye velocity (SPV) when SPV was averaged across the four caloric conditions for each of 17 NOUW patients. The latter finding indicates a subtle trend for eye velocity to increase as a function of increasing hearing threshold.
An Evaluation of Recent Trends in Preschool Programming for Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: Musselman Carol Reich , Lindsay Peter H. , Wilson Anne Keeton
Published: July 2014

A longitudinal study was conducted of 139 children with severe and profound hearing losses. The children were between 3 and 5 years of age at the commencement of the 4-year study. The relationship of several background and educational variables with the linguistic, academic, and social development of the children was investigated. Age, hearing loss, and intelligence were related to most of the dependent measures. Relationships involving communication mode (auditory/oral vs. total communication) varied with the measure being considered. The variable of program type (individual vs. group) interacted with the degree of hearing loss and with communication mode. Although early intervention was related to certain dependent measures, no relationships were found that involved direct instruction by parents or integration.
Speech Segment Durations Produced by Healthy and Asthmatic Subjects
Authors: Lee Linda , Chamberlain Lourdes G. , Loudon Robert G. , Stemple Joseph C.
Published: July 2014

Speech segment durations of various lengths were measured to study the effect of asthma. Subjects produced 5 min of conversation and a monologue and counted at a rate of two numbers per second at two loudness levels. The number of syllables per breath was determined for all tasks. Average sound pressure level, individual segments such as voice onset time, word duration, pause time, and total duration of the activity were compared between groups for the counting tasks. Results revealed that asthmatic speakers met the sound level requirements of loud counting and generally produced speech segment durations similar to healthy subjects. Asthmatic subjects increased pause time between speech segments, produced fewer syllables per breath, and spent a larger percentage of time in nonspeech ventilatory activity than the healthy subjects, presumably to meet metabolic needs.
Evaluating the Treatment Effect of Repeated Probes
Authors: Winner Michelle , Elbert Mary
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the effect of the administration of frequent and infrequent probe lists on generalization to novel stimuli. Four subjects with multiple functional articulation errors were taught to produce two different sounds, and generalization was measured on three probe lists. Two of the probe lists (one for each sound) were administered infrequently, and the third probe list (for one sound) was presented at each treatment session. The results indicated that the frequent rate of administration of probe lists did not produce any predictable effect on the extent of generalization or the occurrence of a practice effect. In general, the data continue to support the use of probe lists as an effective tool to measure generalization.
Speech Production Following Partial Glossectomy
Authors: Fletcher Samuel G.
Published: July 2014

Changes in the dimensions and patterns of articulation used by three speakers to compensate for different amounts of tongue tissue excised during partial glossectomy were investigated. Place of articulation was shifted to parts of the vocal tract congruent with the speakers' surgically altered lingual morphology. Certain metrical properties of the articulatory gestures, such as width of the sibilant groove, were maintained. Intelligibility data indicated that perceptually acceptable substitute sounds could be produced by such transposed gestures.
Within-Clinic versus Outside-of-Clinic Self-Monitoring of Articulation to Promote Generalization
Authors: Koegel Robert L. , Koegel Lynn Kern , Ingham Janis Costello , Van Voy Karen
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to assess the generalization of correct articulation to nontreatment environments when self-monitoring procedures were implemented within versus outside of the clinic setting. Seven children who substituted δ/and /ð/ for /s/ and /z/ participated in this study. Data were collected in the context of a multiple baseline design replicated across subjects. The children initially self-monitored their correct articulation during conversation in the clinic setting where treatment was implemented. Then, after varying intervals, self-monitoring outside of the clinic setting was introduced as well. The results showed that when the children monitored their speech within the clinic setting only, no generalization of correct target sound production outside of the clinic setting occurred. However, after the children were required to monitor their speech outside of the clinic setting, rapid and widespread generalization was measured. These results are discussed in relation to practical and theoretieal implications. Additional data collected on number of responses, the accuracy of the children's monitoring, and the percentage of correct responses are also discussed.
Long-Term Treatment of Severe Dysarthria
Authors: Simpson Marianne B. , Till James A. , Goff Anne M.
Published: July 2014

This case study describes the long-term treatment and changing symptoms in a single subject with dysarthria secondary to basilar artery thrombosis. Initially, the subject was anarthric. Treatment efforts thereafter were directed toward modifying speech respiration, velopharyngeal function, articulatory precision, speech intensity, and speech intelligibility. A variety of treatment and measurement techniques are illustrated. The behavioral change resulting from each of the treatments was small. However, when combined, these small gains in conjunction with some neurological recovery resulted in significantly improved communication and quality of life for this subject. Implications for management Of similar subjects are discussed.
Using a Barrier Game Format to Improve Children's Referential Communication Skills
Authors: Bunce Betty H.
Published: July 2014

The effectiveness of training referential communication skills with learning-disabled (LD) students was investigated. Forty-two upper elementary-aged children were divided equally into three groups: (a) an LD training group, (b) an LD control group, and (c) a normally achieving training group. The normal group was included as a check on training procedures. All subjects were administered pretests. The measures were a listening task and two speaking tasks. The two training groups were trained in dyads on a referential communication task. Posttests were administered 1 week after training. Results indicated that on the listening task the groups were not significantly different. On both speaking measures, the LD trained group achieved significantly higher scores than did the LD control group. The LD and normally achieving training groups were not significantly different. Follow-up testing 7 months later indicated that significant differences remained between the two LD groups on one of the speaking measures. It is concluded that LD students can benefit from training on referential communication tasks.
A Profile Analysis Approach to Interpretation of the Carrow Auditory-Visual Abilities Test
Authors: Powell Thomas W. , Peng Chao-Ying Joanne
Published: July 2014

This paper describes a profile analysis procedure for use with the Carrow Auditory-Visual Abilities Test (CAVAT). The visual-auditory dichotomy, supported by factor analysis, is examined at one level of analysis. Critical values derived from the standard error of measurement of the difference (Sem/D) for each battery are provided allowing the identification of reliable and abnormal visual-auditory discrepancies. At another level of analysis, a procedure for profile analysis is outlined and critical values are included to facilitate the identification of relative strengths and weaknesses at the subtest level. Test results from 2 preschool children are examined and contrasted to illustrate the utility of the CAVAT in the identification of systematic modality preferences.
Maternal Question Use Predicts Later Language Development in Specific-Language-Disordered Children
Authors: Yoder Paul J.
Published: July 2014

The present study used a longitudinal correlational design to test whether variation in mothers' use of information-seeking and confirmation questions predicts variation in auxiliary and copula development in a sample of specific-language-disordered children. The study's confirmatory approach provides a sound empirical basis to conclude that the results of the present study did not occur by chance. Post hoc analyses were carried out to clarify the explanation of the predictive relationships. The main finding of the study was that mothers of specific-language-disordered children who used proportionally more information-seeking questions had children who showed greater mastery of auxiliary use 12 months later.
Contralateral Acoustic-Reflex Growth Function in a Patient with a Cerebellar Tumor
Authors: Harrison Theodore , Silman Shlomo , Silverman Carol Ann
Published: July 2014

The contralateral acoustic-reflex growth functions (ARGFs) for 500-Hz and 1000-Hz tonal activators were obtained pre- and postsurgery in a patient with a right cerebellar tumor. The acoustic-reflex magnitude was quantified as the change in equivalent air volume at the tympanic membrane during acoustic-reflex contraction. The presurgical ARGFs were shallow in the right ear and steep in the left ear at both activator frequencies. The postsurgical ARGFs were steep, bilaterally, reflecting a return to normal in the right ear. The implications with respect to the use of the ARGF measure in differential diagnosis are discussed.
The Meaning of Communication to a Group of Deaf College Students
Authors: Foster Susan , Barefoot Sidney M. , Mudgett Patricia
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the meaning of communication to deaf college students and to explore with them the range of skills and conditions that they consider important for communication. Ethnographic interviews with 23 first-year students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology (NTID at RIT) were used to gather information about communication. Analysis of the interviews led to the organization of informants' comments into four dimensions of communication, including language-modality, affective, situational, and sociopolitical. These dimensions were then used to develop a multidimensional perspective on communication. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of a multidimensional perspective on communication for the development of comprehensive communication training programs for deaf people.
Communication Mode Use of Two Hearing-Impaired Adolescents in Conversation
Authors: Gallagher Tanya M. , Meador Helen E.
Published: July 2014

Communication mode use in the dyadic conversational speech of adolescent simultaneous communication (SC)-trained hearing-impaired twin boys was investigated. Proportional frequencies of modes and the English structural characteristics of the spoken components of utterances produced in each mode were examined. The results indicated that these adolescents were using an integrated bimodal form of English with a grammatical base that did not vary as a function of the presence or absence of simultaneous signs either in their speech or their partner's speech. Implications of the results are discussed.
Aphasic Subjects' Comprehension of Synthetic and Natural Speech
Authors: Huntress Linda M. , Lee Linda , Creaghead Nancy A. , Wheeler Daniel D. , Braverman Kathleen M.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the ability of aphasic patients with mild auditory comprehension problems to respond to synthetic speech produced by an inexpensive speech synthesizer attached to a personal computer. Subjects were given four practice sessions with synthetic speech; testing of synthetic speech comprehension was performed during Sessions 1 and 4. During testing, aphasic subjects' comprehension of synthetic speech was compared with their comprehension of natural speech on four tasks: (a) picture identification, (b) following commands, (c) yes/no questions, and (d) paragraph comprehension with yes/no questions. Aphasic subjects comprehended natural speech better than synthetic speech in Session 1 but not in Session 4. Their synthetic speech scores improved between Sessions 1 and 4. There was also a significant difference among scores on the four tasks for both sessions. The means for picture identification were highest, followed by yes/no questions, commands, and finally paragraph comprehension for both sessions. Although performance by some subjects on some tasks was accurate enough to indicate that an inexpensive speech synthesizer could be a useful tool for working with mild aphasic patients, considerable caution in selecting both tasks and patients is warranted.
Acoustic Reflex Thresholds in Normal and Cochlear-Impaired Ears
Authors: Gelfand Stanley A. , Schwander Teresa , Silman Shlomo
Published: July 2014

Ninetieth percentile cutoffs for acoustic reflex thresholds (ARTs) were determined for a sample of 2,748 ears of 1,374 subjects with normal hearing and sensorineural loss of cochlear origin. All subjects had measurable hearing (≤110 dB HL, ANSI-1969) at all three activator frequencies (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz). Cutoff values including "no responses" ("absent" reflexes at 125 dB HL) were higher than those excluding no responses when hearing losses were greater than about 55 dB. The 90th percentiles including the effects of no responses identified ears with retrocochlear involvement for hearing losses as great as about 75 dB. For greater hearing losses at the activator frequency, the no-response rate for both cochlear and retrocochlear cases is too high to enable them to be differentiated by acoustic reflex thresholds. The 90th percentiles are derived at each activator frequency collapsed across ears. It is therefore necessary to determine the probabilities that normal or cochlear-impaired ears will have one, two, or three frequencies at which the ARTs exceed their respective 90th percentiles. It was found that among normal and cochlear-impaired ears, 12.2% have one ART elevated above the 90th percentile, but only 5.6% have two or three elevated ARTs. Clinical implications are discussed.
Acoustic Validation of Phonological Knowledge and Its Relationship to Treatment
Authors: Tyler Ann A. , Edwards Mary Louise , Saxman John H.
Published: July 2014

The speech of 4 phonologically disordered children with place and voicing errors affecting initial stop consonants was described through phonological and acoustic analyses. Productions of target voiced and voiceless alveolar and velar stops were transcribed and acoustically analyzed before and after treatment that was administered on a predetermined contrast. Three of the children produced significant, although largely imperceptible, differences in VOT for a given stop when it represented different adult stops. The presence of productive phonological knowledge, as inferred from acoustic data, facilitated rapid generalization of correct production of the treated contrast. In the absence of acoustically determined productive knowledge, a longer treatment period was necessary to achieve a lower level of production accuracy on the same treated contrast. Sources of speech sound errors for the 4 children were hypothesized by comparing the children's underlying representations determined from both acoustic and descriptive phonological data.
Sources of Variability Contributing to Test-Retest Differences in Threshold-Based Articulation Indices
Authors: Mason David , Rochman Alexandra
Published: July 2014

This study was conducted to obtain information on test-retest differences in Articulation Indices (AI) when a clinical threshold-based method is used to calculate AI. The AI was calculated using a nine-frequency-band method on 2 separate days for 209 ears. Standard deviations of test-retest differences were calculated. The standard deviations were greatest when the AI was near 50% and least when the AI was near 0% or 100%. The standard deviations for test-retest AI differences were also dependent on the relationship of the hearing thresholds and speech spectrum. Under the assumption that each dB change in threshold would have an affect on the AI, standard deviations of test-retest differences increased significantly. Test-retest standard deviations for nine-band and five-band methods were approximately equal when only five thresholds were actually measured. A small improvement would be expected if the number of threshold measurements increased from five to nine.
Range of Intensities Yielding Pb Max and the Threshold for Monosyllabic Words for Hearing-Impaired Subjects
Authors: Beattie Randall C. , Zipp Judy A.
Published: July 2014

Characteristics of the range of intensities yielding PB Max and of the threshold for monosyllabic words (PBT) were investigated in 110 elderly subjects with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Word recognition functions were generated using the Auditec recordings of the CID W-22 words with 50 words per level. The results indicated that (a) the range of intensities yielding PB Max was approximately 33 dB at a level corresponding to 12% below PB Max, (b) the PB Max range decreased as the magnitude of hearing loss increased, (c) testing at the loudness discomfort level was likely to provide a more accurate estimate of PB Max than testing at most comfortable listening level, (d) word recognition scores should be obtained at a minimum of two intensities in order to estimate PB Max, (e) the PBT in dB SL re the spondaic threshold increased as the steepness of the audiogram increased, and (f) the PBT should not be considered unusual unless it exceeds the predicted value by about 14 dB.
The Identification of Language Impairment in the Selection of Specifically Language-Impaired Subjects
Authors: McCauley Rebecca J. , Demetras M. J.
Published: July 2014

This review focused on the methods used to identify language impairment in specifically language-impaired subjects participating in 72 research studies that were described in four journals from 1983 to 1988. The single most frequent source of information used in the identification process was found to be test data. There was, however, considerable variability and, often, a lack of clarity regarding the specific number and identity of tests used. More specific findings on test use indicated that researchers routinely assessed both expressive and receptive language and that they used incomplete tests. When test scores used in identification and selection were examined, there was a wide range of score types, and age-equivalent scores were by far the most common and often the only type of score utilized. Conclusions are drawn regarding the impact of these findings on the interpretation and generalizability of this research literature.
Speech and Language Correlates of Adults' Judgments of Children
Authors: Burroughs Elizabeth I. , Tomblin J. Bruce
Published: July 2014

This two-part study explored the influence that a preschool-aged child's communication behavior has on the impression he or she makes on adults. First, the semantic differential technique was used to reveal the dimensions that describe the adults' judgments of these children. Four adult judges listened to 140 2-min samples of children conversing with an adult and rated the children on 24 bipolar adjective scales. Factor analysis of the ratings produced a three-dimensional structure (Dynamism, Maturity, and Appeal) that accounted for 80% of the total variance in the judgment data. Next, the association between six selected speech and language behaviors and the judgments on each of these dimensions were examined. Rate of speech, fluency of speech, participation in the conversation, complexity of sentences, and grammaticality of utterances were not highly correlated with adults' impressions. However, level of phonological accuracy did correlate with adults' perceptions of degree of maturity.
The Modified Tongue-Anchor Technique as a Screening Test for Velopharyngeal Inadequacy
Authors: Dalston Rodger M. , Warren Donald W. , Dalston Eileen T.
Published: July 2014

Pressure-flow assessment of velopharyngeal (v-p) orifice size was used to test the accuracy with which tongue-anchor task results categorize patients differing in v-p adequacy status. The results indicate that this screening task was fairly accurate in identifying patients with v-p adequacy as defined by aerodynamic assessment (specificity=0.85). It was not quite as accurate in correctly categorizing patients with inadequacy (sensitivity=0.78). The predictive power of this screening test and its utility in a school setting are discussed.
Generalized Learning of Receptive and Expressive Action-Object Responses by Language-Delayed Preschoolers
Authors: Mineo Beth A. , Goldstein Howard
Published: July 2014

This study examined the effectiveness of matrix-training procedures in teaching action + object utterances in both the receptive and expressive language modalities. The subjects were 4 developmentally delayed preschool boys who failed to produce spontaneous, functional two-word utterances. A multiple baseline design across responses with a multiple probe technique was employed. Subjects were taught 4–6 of 48 receptive and 48 expressive responses. Acquisition of a word combination rule was facilitated by the use of familiar lexical items, whereas subsequent acquisition of new lexical knowledge was enhanced by couching training in a previously trained word combination pattern. Although receptive knowledge was not sufficient for the demonstration of corresponding expressive performance for most of the children, only minimal expressive training was required to achieve this objective. For most matrix items, subjects responded receptively before they did so expressively. For 2 subjects, when complete receptive recombinative generalization had not been achieved, expressive training facilitated receptive responding. The results of this study elucidate benefits to training one linguistic aspect (lexical item, word combination pattern) at a time to maximize generalization in developmentally delayed preschoolers.
Comprehension Monitoring in Language-Disordered Children
Authors: Skarakis-Doyle Elizabeth , Mullin Kathleen
Published: July 2014

This study provided a preliminary investigation of the relative influence of cognitive and communicative factors in comprehension monitoring. This question was approached by studying language-disordered (LD) children for whom these abilities are presumably dissociated. Their performance on an ambiguity detection task was compared to that of two groups of control children, one matched for comprehension level and the other for cognitive level. Results revealed that LD children performed similarly to the control children who were matched for level of comprehension. The LD children's performance was examined along a continuum of the relative influence of cognitive and communicative factors, given that neither type of factor alone could sufficiently account for effective comprehension monitoring. It was concluded that communicative factors, both active primary comprehension and social communicative knowledge, had a stronger influence than the cognitive factors in our particular comprehension monitoring task.
Communication of Speech Sounds by a Tactual Vocoder
Authors: Pickett J. M. , Pickett B. Horenstein
Published: July 2014

Tests of tactual speech perception were conducted using a special frequency-analyzing vocoder. The vocoder presented a running frequency analysis of speech mapped into a spatial array of tactual vibrations which were applied to the fingers of the receiving subject. Ten vibrators were used, one for each finger. The position of a vibrator represented a given frequency region of speech energy; the total range covered was 210 to 7 700 cps; all the vibrations had a frequency of 300 cps; the vibration amplitudes represented the energy distribution over the various frequencies. Discrimination and identification tests were performed with various sets of test vowels; consonant discrimination tests were performed with certain consonants including those that might be difficult to lipread. Performance with vowels appeared to be related to formant structure and duration as measured on the test vowels, and to tactual masking effects. Consonant discrimination was good between stops and continuants; consonant features of nasality, voicing, and affrication were also discriminated to some extent. It is concluded that the skin offers certain capacities for transmitting speech information which may be used to complement speech communication where only an impoverished speech signal is normally received. This research was conducted at the Speech Transmission Laboratory, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Dimension of Quality for the Vowel [æ]
Authors: Peters Robert W.
Published: July 2014

Multidimensional analysis of similarity data was applied to the domain of a spoken vowel. Thirty-two male speakers provided samples of the vowel [æ]. Judgments of degree of similarity between each pair of vowels were obtained from 100 observers. The similarity judgments provided estimates of psychological distances between the vowels. The distances were used to construct an auditory space, Euclidean in nature, for the vowel samples. Dimensionality of the space was appropriate to account for the distances between vowels. Acoustic data were employed to identify the dimensions. The dimensions related well to frequency and amplitude properties of first, second and third formants, and good predictions as to locations of the vowels in space could be made from the acoustic data. The multidimensional scaling method shows promise as a method for structuring auditory space and for understanding processes of vowel perceptions.
Influence on Motor Performance of Simultaneous Delayed and Synchronous Pure-Tone Auditory Feedback
Authors: Ruhm Howard B. , Cooper William A.
Published: July 2014

A study was made of the effect of the presentation order of delay/synchronous (DAF/SAF) intensity ratios on tapping performance under simultaneously presented synchronous and delayed auditory feedback. Comparisons were made between performances of groups who received either primarily positive or primarily negative DAF/SAF ratios in random order. Additional comparisons were made between subjects who received serially presented DAF/SAF ratios in an ascending series and those who were given the same stimuli in a descending DAF/SAF ratio series. It was found that, when synchronous and delayed auditory feedback are presented simultaneously at various DAF/SAF ratios, the presentation order influences the degree of performance disruption. It is concluded that the results of studies involving the use of simultaneously presented SAF and DAF should be interpreted in light of the stimulus presentation order.
Grammatical Class as a Variable in Verbal Satiation
Authors: Fillenbaum Samuel
Published: July 2014

Under conditions of continuous elicitation, lexical words (nouns) took significantly longer to lose meaning than function words (conjunctions and prepositions), even though each of the critical words appeared embedded in a sentence context. An attempt is made to interpret these findings; and the need is stressed for adequate sampling from the various grammatical classes when studying verbal behavior.
Semantic Components of the Quality of Processed Speech
Authors: McGee Victor E.
Published: July 2014

Fifteen frequency distortions of one male voice were arranged on tape for paired-comparison presentation. Adult male and female listeners made quality-preference judgments and in addition rated each distortion on 30 semantic-differential scales. A paired-comparison scale of quality was determined and each of the SD scales was factored by means of an Eckart-Young type of procedure. This procedure proved sensitive to different points of view among the listeners, even when the differences concerned only one or two of the voice distortions. Results indicated that the semantic space for the distortions was two-dimensional, containing an Intelligibility Factor and a Naturalness Factor, and that the prediction of the quality scale required consideration of both of these factors.
Delayed Auditory Feedback with Different Delay Times at Each Ear
Authors: Fillenbaum Samuel
Published: July 2014

Binaurally asynchronous delayed auditory feedback (DAF) was compared with synchronous DAF in 80 normal subjects. Asynchronous DAF (0.10 sec difference) did not yield results different from those obtained under synchronous DAF with a 0.20 sec delay interval, an interval characteristically resulting in maximum disruptions in speech.
Audience Size and Variations in Stuttering Behavior
Authors: Siegel Gerald M. , Haugen David
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the effects of variations in audience size on stuttering frequency and adaptation of stuttering. Twenty-five stutterers were divided into an Increasing and a Decreasing audience size group. Subjects in both groups read in both an experimental and a control condition. Stuttering adaptation was reduced as the size of the audience increased. The data concerning the Decreasing treatment are more equivocal. A substantial negative correlation was found between initial frequency of stuttering and stuttering adaptation.
Determining Perceptual Spaces for the Quality of Filtered Speech
Authors: McGee Victor E.
Published: July 2014

Using one recorded voice, distorted in 15 different ways, a sample of listeners made similarity-with-respect-to-quality judgments for the complete paired comparison schedule. By means of an Eckart-Young type factoring procedure, four points of view among the listeners were isolated and the perceptual spaces for these points of view were determined. An implication of the “mean” point of view was the operation of two response sets labeled “lowest harmonics—YES” and “lowest harmonics—NO”.
Automated Training for a “Matching-To-Sample” Task in Aphasia
Authors: Edwards Allan E.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the differential responses of more than 100 aphasics to a “primer” program of automatic training. The subjects were exposed to random shapes on a screen, and responded by pushing buttons to match stimuli. If the response was correct, colored lights were flashed or door chimes sounded. If the response was incorrect, darkness followed. If no errors were made on certain defined trials, the program advanced the subject to jump-ahead tests, or retreated to fall-back tests if errors occurred. Therefore, it seems possible to teach severe aphasics any program which can utilize visual discrimination.
The Effect of Stapedectomy on the Loudness of One’s Own Voice
Authors: Melnick William
Published: July 2014

Five subjects with normal middle ear mechanisms, and otosclerotic patients, before and after stapedectomy, matched the loudness of their voices to the loudness of a 125-cps-sawtooth noise. The results showed loudness matching functions with gradual slopes, less than 1.00, for the normal subjects and the patients prior to stapedectomy. Post-surgically, the loudness function for the patients increased in steepness to considerably more than 1.00. These results are explained, most logically, in terms of increased sensitivity of the altered middle ear to sound energy generated by the listener’s own voice.
Oral Perception: 1. Two-Point Discrimination
Authors: Ringel Robert L. , Ewanowski Stanley J.
Published: July 2014

Various oral structures were evaluated in 25 normal subjects, in order to gather normative data for selected parameters of tactile perception. Results revealed a significant progression of maximal to minimal discriminatory capacity and a tendency toward increased discriminatory ability at the midline aspect of the structures.
Punishment of Disfluencies in Normal Speakers
Authors: Siegel Gerald M. , Martin Richard R.
Published: July 2014

Disfluencies in the reading of 60 normal college subjects were studied in three experimental conditions: Contingent “Right”, Contingent “Buzzer”, and Contingent “Wrong”. Ten High and 10 Low disfluency level subjects participated in each condition. The subjects read consecutively for 36 minutes. The first and last 12 minutes were Baserate Segments, during which no experimental manipulations were introduced. During Segment 2 (the middle 12 minutes), subjects were presented with a buzzer or with the words “Right” or “Wrong” immediately after each repetition or hesitation emitted as they read. Subjects in the “Wrong” condition showed a clear punishment effect, with a significant decrease in disfluencies between Segments 1 and 2, and a significant increase in disfluencies again in Segment 3. Data for the other conditions were more equivocal. Instructions to one group of subjects to decrease disfluencies resulted in a marked attenuation of the response, even though no contingencies were arranged.
The Effect of Increment Size on Short Increment Sensitivity Index Scores
Authors: Sanders Jay W. , Simpson Mary E.
Published: July 2014

The Short Increment Sensitivity Index (SISI test) was given with three increment magnitudes, 1.00 dB, 0.75 dB, and 0.50 dB, to a group of 24 normal hearing subjects and to a group of nine subjects with cochlear lesion hearing loss. The presence of cochlear pathology in the latter group was supported by the results of loudness balance tests of recruitment.

The SISI test distinguished the cochlear pathology ear from the normal ear more consistently with the 1.00 dB increment than with either of the two smaller increment magnitudes investigated. The major conclusion of the study is that the SISI test should be continued with the 1.00 dB increment originally proposed.
Differential Sensitivity to Duration of Acoustic Signals
Authors: Ruhm Howard B. , Mencke Eugene O. , Milburn Braxton , Cooper William A. , Rose Darrell E.
Published: July 2014

Experiments were conducted to assess differential sensitivity to acoustic signal duration under various combinations of reference duration, sensation level, and signal frequency, and to determine whether hearing impairment, ostensibly due to cochlear pathology, affects such discrimination.

The absolute DL (difference limen) was linear as a function of reference duration at both 10 dB and 50 dB sensation levels in normal subjects and in those with presumed cochlear pathology. When a 10 dB SL signal was used, the mean absolute DL increased at the rate of 2.63 msec per 100-msec increase in reference duration. A concomitant increase of 2.38 msec per 100-msec increase in reference duration was observed when a 50 db SL signal was employed. Neither the signal frequency nor the presence of sensorineural hearing loss affected the duration DL, whereas a sensation level effect was exhibited by both types of subject. A smaller limen was obtained at 50 dB SL than at 10 dB SL.
Relation of Bekesy Tracings to Personality and Electrophysiologic Measures
Authors: Shepherd David C. , Goldstein Robert
Published: July 2014

Bekesy amplitudes of 10 white men, 10 white women, 10 colored men, and 10 colored women were compared and also correlated with MMPI personality measures, EEG amplitude changes, heart rate changes, and skin-resistance levels and changes. All subjects had normal hearing. It was initially proposed that normal-hearing individuals who are similar in personality and who have similar emotional changes (measured by electrophysiologic recordings) during Bekesy audiometry will produce tracings of similar amplitude. Findings indicate that the size of Bekesy amplitudes do relate to personality as well as to emotional changes that occur during Bekesy audiometry. These relations, however, are specific to Bekesy amplitudes produced with a fast (2.5 dB/sec) continuous stimulus, dependent upon like skin resistance levels and probably independent of race and sex. Clear patterns of relations involving personality and electrophysiologic measures and Bekesy amplitudes traced with a fast (2.5 dB/sec) pulsed, slow (0.625 dB/sec) continuous, and slow pulsed stimulus, were not evident.
Visual and Auditory Sequence Learning in Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: Furth Hans G. , Pufall Peter B.
Published: July 2014

Two hearing impaired groups, one diagnosed as deaf, the other as aphasic, at two age levels, CA 6–7 and CA 10–11, with 8 subjects in each group, were compared to a control hearing group of 16 subjects at each age level. All subjects were given four paired-associate tasks: a visual discrete task with six associations (DPA) and three 2- to 6-sequence tasks with combinatory sequences as stimuli; one sequence task showed visual stimuli in simultaneous presentation (SIM), another in successive (SUC), and a third presented auditory successive sequences (AUD).

The main results indicated no differences between aphasic and deaf except that the younger aphasics were poorer on AUD. The younger hearing-impaired were equal to controls on DPA, but poorer on SUC and AUD. For all groups SIM and for controls also AUD was easier than SUC.
The Reliability of Speech Audiometry with Institutionalized Retarded Children
Authors: Lloyd Lyle L. , Reid Michael J.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the reliability of speech-reception-threshold (SRT) audiometry with 12 moderately and 12 severely retarded children randomly selected from an institutionalized population. All 24 subjects showed ±6 dB or better test-retest SRT agreement for right ear, left ear, and sound field presentations.
Reliability of Voice Tests of Speech Discrimination
Authors: Brandy William T.
Published: July 2014

Three randomizations of a list of twenty-five words were recorded by a single talker on separate days and under identical conditions. One of the recordings was rerecorded three times and these dubbings were acoustically corrected, cut, and spliced into the three different orders. Two groups of twelve subjects each were tested. One group listened to the three independent recordings, the other to the three randomizations of the single reading. Statistically significant differences in listener performance were found among the three independent readings of the word list, but no differences were found among the randomizations of the single reading. These results indicate that repeated readings of a list of words do not necessarily give equivalent forms of a test of speech discrimination.
The Use of a Compound Unconditioned Stimulus in Electrodermal Audiometry
Authors: Watson John E.
Published: July 2014

The EDR to a 1,000 Hz tone was conditioned in four groups of 10 normal adult subjects each. A different type of unconditioned stimulus was used in the conditioning of each group: (a) a vibratory stimulus alone, (b) an electric shock alone, (c) simultaneous vibration and shock, and (d) shock or vibration presented randomly an equal number of times. Comparison of frequency and amplitude of the conditioned responses observed during extinction trials in each of the groups indicated that the paired stimuli, whether presented simultaneously or randomly, produced a highly significant increase in responsiveness. It is concluded that the use of a compound unconditioned stimulus in electrodermal audiometry would increase the efficiency of the method.
Prosodic Factors in Grammar-Evidence from Aphasia
Authors: Goodglass Harold , Fodor Iris G. , Schulhoff Celia
Published: July 2014

This investigation studied the conditions under which the function words of grammar are omitted or confused in aphasic speech. Twenty-seven Broca’s aphasics and 23 fluent (Wernicke and amnesic) aphasics took part in Experiment 1, which consisted of: (a) a word-span repetition test, where the subjects repeated grammatically unrelated, equally-stressed, 3-word sets; and (b) a sentence repetition test, where four- and five-word sentences were delivered by the examiner with normal conversational intonation. Compared to Broca’s aphasics of equal severity, the fluent aphasics were at a disadvantage in their span for repetition of word lists, while on the sentence repetition test, initial unstressed function words were more frequently omitted by Broca’s aphasics than by fluent aphasics. Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis that stress and position of function words, instead of word quality, determine whether words are dropped or retained in speech. One Broca’s aphasic repeated a series of 3-word phrases, consisting chiefly of sentences, delivered to him in normal conversational intonation. The results confirmed the hypothesis. In Experiment 3, these results were retested on a group of 10 Broca’s and 12 fluent aphasics, and again the hypothesis was confirmed. It was concluded that the prosodie characteristics of grammatical function words determine whether they are lost or retained in agrammatic speech.