No description available.

Many companies implemented remote work procedures during the pandemic and for many organizations video meetings have since remained a staple. Remote working has enabled employees to be more flexible with their schedules and technical solutions such as live captioning has been identified as potentially enabling deaf/hard-of-hearing employees during meetings. However with new procedures comes concern about how we potentially can be affected by the changes. Some earlier research has shown that speech intelligibility can be improved by the inclusion of text support, but they also raised the possibility that it could have unwanted adverse effects on cognitive abilities (Zhong, Noud et al., 2022). This study was conducted with this focus, studying the effects of text support on specifically listening effort and comprehension during normal as well as adverse conditions (featuring added noise). To investigate the effects of text support a 2 (Noise, No Noise) x 2 (Text Support, No Text Support) design was used. The participants were shown 16 short videos simulating video meetings and after each video were asked to rate their perceived listening effort as well as a comprehension question about the contents of the discussion. Each of the four conditions were equally represented but the order of the specific video files and conditions that applied were randomised for each participant to mitigate undue effects. The results of the study indicate that the presence of captions decrease effort and raise comprehension in both normal and adverse conditions. Noise was found to strongly effect the listening effort required by participants but no significant effect was found upon comprehension. Some concerns regarding the ecological validity were identified during the course of the study such as only studying energetic noise and unrealistic presentation of captions. However the results are nonetheless believed to be generalizable in most regards and showcase that captions can have a positive influence during video meetings.

L2 listening research has moved toward a focus on understanding the process of listening. However, there are still few detailed studies of L2 listening that reveal learners’ comprehension processes when listening to scripted and unscripted listening texts. Studies in which such processing has been discussed have lacked detailed diagnoses of how bottom-up and top-down processing interactively affect listeners’ comprehension. This study was designed to show how listeners’ process and comprehend texts, with a focus on how their bottom-up and top-down processing either assist or impede their comprehension. In this study, a group of 30 L1 Japanese university English language learners’ listening abilities were diagnosed. The 30 participants were at three listening proficiency levels—high, mid, and low—based on TOEIC listening proficiency scores. The diagnostic procedure involved participants listening to two scripted and two unscripted listening texts and then reporting what they comprehended through three tasks—L1 oral recalls, L2 repetitions, and verbal reports. Other data was also collected in the study to relate the comprehension of listening texts to other important listening-related variables including listening proficiency, lexical knowledge, listening anxiety, study abroad experience, short-term phonological memory, and working memory. The main finding of the study was that miscomprehension of listening texts was invariably multi-causal, with a combination of both bottom-up and top-down factors leading to comprehension difficulty. Although not a new finding, the study offered more detail than current research about how bottom-up and top-down processing occur interactively. Regarding the overall difficulty of the listening texts, unscripted texts were more difficult to comprehend than scripted texts, and high-proficiency participants had fewer listening difficulties overall than mid- and low-proficiency participants. Quantitative and qualitative results revealed common processing difficulties among all participants due to L1-related phonological decoding issues (e.g., /l/ vs. /r/), connected speech, unknown lexis, and a lack of familiarity with unscripted speech hesitation phenomena (e.g., um, like). Qualitative transcript examples showed how top-down knowledge influenced misinterpretations of words and phrases interactively with bottom-up information, making inaccurate understandings of listening difficult to overcome. In addition to revealing participants’ difficulties and the severity of their comprehension difficulties, the diagnostic procedure showed common strengths—key words and phrases understood well by participants. High-frequency vocabulary and shorter utterances were both shown to be comprehended well. Finally, quantitative results in the study revealed relationships of participants’ listening comprehension with other important listening related variables. Listening proficiency and listening anxiety had strong relationships with listening comprehension of the listening texts. Working memory and short-term phonological memory had no relationship with listening text comprehension. Finally, study abroad experience showed a relationship with comprehension, but with many caveats, and listening vocabulary knowledge was not related with comprehension, but again, with numerous caveats to consider. Based on the results, theoretical and pedagogical implications were posed. Theoretical implications from the study relate to the understanding of four concerns in L2 listening research. Mainly, data in the study will aid researchers’ understanding of how L2 English listeners process speech interactively (i.e., with bottom-up and top-down information) for comprehension, how L2 English listeners experience connected speech, how L2 listeners deal with unknown lexis, and how L2 listeners experience difficulties with features of unscripted speech. Pedagogical implications of the study include the need for increased teacher and learner awareness of the complexity of L2 listening, the need to have learners to track their own listening development, and the need for teachers to expose learners to unscripted listening texts and make them familiar with features of unscripted speech. Finally, suggestions for further research are posed, including conducting diagnostics assessments of L2 listening with listeners of different L1s and with more varied proficiency levels, using different diagnostic procedures to examine L2 listening comprehension, and using more instruments to understand listening-related variables’ relationships with L2 listening comprehension. / Teaching & Learning

This study is a hermeneutic-phenomenological investigation with the aim of understanding the meanings that the NWU-PUK Rugby Institute players attributed to their lived experience of listening to music before a game. In answering this central research question, two sub-questions were also explored to find out what the rugby players experienced while listening to music before a game and how they experienced listening to music in terms of the context, situation and conditions. Ten NWU-PUK Rugby Institute players participated, eight of whom played in the same team, and two who played in different teams. Reflective essays were collected with follow-up semi-structured interviews with the chosen participants. Using ATLAS.ti 7, the data were analysed. Codes were conceptualised into categories and themes, links were made and patterns were identified. The results revealed four broad themes: 1) Nothing can distract me; 2) Activate and deactivate; 3) Affect regulation and 4) Well-being. These themes formed the basis of what the participants experienced while listening to music, with all four themes resulting in preparation for a rugby game. / MA(Musicology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study is a hermeneutic-phenomenological investigation with the aim of understanding the meanings that the NWU-PUK Rugby Institute players attributed to their lived experience of listening to music before a game. In answering this central research question, two sub-questions were also explored to find out what the rugby players experienced while listening to music before a game and how they experienced listening to music in terms of the context, situation and conditions. Ten NWU-PUK Rugby Institute players participated, eight of whom played in the same team, and two who played in different teams. Reflective essays were collected with follow-up semi-structured interviews with the chosen participants. Using ATLAS.ti 7, the data were analysed. Codes were conceptualised into categories and themes, links were made and patterns were identified. The results revealed four broad themes: 1) Nothing can distract me; 2) Activate and deactivate; 3) Affect regulation and 4) Well-being. These themes formed the basis of what the participants experienced while listening to music, with all four themes resulting in preparation for a rugby game. / MA(Musicology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The purpose of the research is to explore social workers' listening skills pertaining to listening as communication skill during an experimental social work interview. The research methodology comprised unique application of a social work interview. A sample of five participating social workers was invited to listen to a video recording of a social work interview requesting them to identify information presented by the client through observation and listening by applying a set of predetermined theoretical conversation elements. The participation and involvement of participating social workers during the listening experiment was video recorded for subsequent evaluation. The conclusion reached from research findings indicates that the unique approach adopted by participating social workers' achieved mixed results towards hypothetic assistance offered to the experimental client. The researcher recommends that social workers be developed and trained in the art of maintaining effective listening skills during social work interviews to improve assistance to clients. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Work)

This study investigates how listening, as part of the literacy learning programme is planned for and taught in the grade one class. The data was produced through semi-structured interviews of five participants, who were grade one educators in the urban area of Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal. Findings suggested the many factors that accounted for why some children in the grade one class do not listen and that educators need to plan for the teaching of listening. The researcher examines the use of multiple strategies, such as teaching responsively, including stimulating tasks, reading aloud, creating a purpose for listening, setting the stage for listening and modeling as strategies to teach listening. The study ends with recommendations for the Department of Education to present workshops to educators on the teaching of listening and for module courses at colleges and universities to offer specialized courses on the teaching of listening. The aim of this research which was conducted in the urban area of Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal, was to investigate how grade one educators were planning for and teaching listening. During this study, data was produced through semi-structured interviews of five participants, who were grade one educators. Findings of this study suggest that there were many factors that accounted for why some children in the grade one class do not listen. Findings also indicated that educators need to plan for the teaching of listening. / Ed. (Didactics))

Titel: Har chefer slutat lyssna? – en studie om kommunikationstillfredsställelse och chefers aktiva lyssnande. Nivå: Examensarbete för kandidatexamen i företagsekonomi. Författare: Michel Barjakob, Mathias Johansson. Handledare: Kristina Mickelsson, Pär Vilhelmson. Datum: 2016 - januari Syfte: I denna studie vill vi söka en djupare förståelse för chefers aktiva lyssnande och hur det formar medarbetarnas kommunikationstillfredsställelse. Metod: Då studiens syfte är att skapa en djupare förståelse i chefers aktiva lyssnande så har vi utfört en kvalitativ forskning. Data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio anställda från en ledande elektronikkedja i Gävle. Materialet har analyserats genom tematisering och presenterats med resultaten. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att chefer bör ha en tillräckligt hög kommunikationskompetens för att veta när ett aktivt lyssnande ska tillämpas eller ej. Chefers kommunikationskompetens formar de anställdas kommunikations-tillfredsställelse samtidigt som det framkommit att chefer inte är medvetna om det aktiva lyssnandet i tillräcklig utsträckning. Förslag till vidare forskning: Studien har varit djupgående med sin kvalitativa forskning och ligger som grund till vårt förslag till vidare forskning. Deltagarna i denna studie har efterfrågat en uppföljning av det aktiva lyssnandet. Ett ytterligare förslag till vidare forskning är en undersökning efter det aktiva lyssnandets avspegling på företagsresultat. Uppsattsens bidrag: Bidraget till studiens målgrupp syftar till det tomrum som lokaliserats samt besvarats. En teoretisk modell har skapats med hjälp av tidigare forskning som kartlägger begrepp inom kommunikation och tillfredsställelse. Det praktiska bidraget syftar till chefer då kunskap inom aktivt lyssnande kan hjälpa chefer att kommunicera med sina medarbetare. Nyckelord: kommunikationskompetens, aktivt lyssnande, kommunikationstillfredsställelse, arbetstillfredsställelse, forma. / Title: Har chefer slutat lyssna? – en studie om kommunikationstillfredsställelse och chefers aktiva lyssnande. Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. Author: Michel Barjakob, Mathias Johansson. Supervisor: Kristina Mickelsson, Pär Vilhelmson. Date: 2016 – january Aim: In this study we aim to create a deeper understanding in supervisors active listening and how it shapes employees communication satisfaction. Method: Due to the aim of the study, which is to create a deeper understanding in supervisors active listening, we have conducted a qualitative research. Data has been gathered through semi-structured interviews with ten employees from a leading electronic store and was conducted in Gävle.  Result & conclusions: The study show that supervisors must possess enough communication competence to know when active listening should be used. Supervisors communication competence shapes the employees communication satisfaction meanwhile most supervisors lack knowledge in active listening. Suggestions for future research: Our suggestions for future research are based on this study’s qualitative research. The participants have requested a follow-up of the active listening. A further recommendation for further research is to examine the impact active listening has on company results. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes by filling the gap we found in our research area. A theoretical model was developed based on previous research, which helped find and localize communication and satisfaction and its components. The practical contribution is aimed towards supervisors hoping to receive knowledge in active listening to help them communicate with their co-workers. Key words: communication competence, active listening, communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, shape.

In this dissertation, the traditional dichotic listening paradigm was integrated with the notion of working memory capacity (WMC) to explore the cognitive mechanism of bilingual speech comprehension at the passage level. A bilingual dichotic listening (BDL) task was developed and administered to investigate characteristics of bilingual listening comprehension, which include semantic relatedness, unattended language, ear preference, auditory attentional control, executive control, voluntary note-taking, and language switching. The central concept of the BDL paradigm is that the auditory stimuli are presented in the bilinguals’ two languages and their attention is directed to one of their ears while they have to overcome cognitive and linguistic conflicts caused by information in the other ear. Different experimental manipulations were employed in the BDL task to examine the characteristics of bilingual listening comprehension. The bilingual population examined was Japanese- English bilinguals with relatively high second language (L2) proficiency and WMC. Seven experiments and seven cross-experimental comparisons are reported. Experiment 1 employed the BDL task with pairs of passages that had different semantic relationships (i.e., related or unrelated) and were heard in different languages (i.e., L1 or L2). The semantically related passages were found to interfere with comprehension of the attended passage more than the semantically unrelated passages, whether the attended and unattended languages were the same or different. Contrary to the theories of bilingual language control, unattended L1 was found to enhance comprehension of the attended passage, regardless of semantic relationships and language it was heard in. L2 proficiency and WMC served as good predictors of resolution of the cognitive and linguistic conflicts. The BDL task is suggested to serve as an experimental paradigm to explore executive control and language control in bilingual speech comprehension. Experiment 2 was conducted to investigate language lateralisation (i.e., ear preference) on bilingual speech comprehension, hence, the participants in Experiment 1 used their preferred ear, whereas participants in Experiment 2 used their non-preferred ear, whether it was left or right, in the BDL task. Comprehension was better through the preferred ear, indicating that there is a favourable ear-to-hemisphere route for understanding bilinguals’ two languages. Most of the participants were found to be left-lateralised (i.e., right-eared) and some to be right-lateralised (i.e., left-eared) presumably depending on their L2 proficiency and WMC. Experiment 3 was concerned with auditory attentional control, and explored whether there would be a right-ear advantage (REA). The participants indicated an REA whether the attended and unattended languages were L1 or L2. When they listened to Japanese in the left ear, they found it more difficult to suppress Japanese in the right ear than English. WMC was not required as much as expected for auditory attentional control probably because the passages in Experiment 3 did not yield as much semantic competition as those in Experiment 1. L2 proficiency was crucial for resolving within- and between-language competition in each ear. Experiments 4, 5, and 6 were replications of Experiments 1, 2 and 3, but these latter experiments considered the effect of note-taking that is commonly performed in everyday listening situations. Note-taking contributed to better performance and clearer understanding of the role of WMC in bilingual speech comprehension. A cross-experimental analysis between Experiments 1, 2, 4, and 5 revealed not only a facilitatory role of note-taking in bilingual listening comprehension in general, but also a hampering role when listening through the preferred ear. Experiment 7 addressed the effect of predictability of language switching by presenting L1 and L2 in a systematic order while switching attention between ears and comparing the result with that of Experiment 6 where language switching was unpredictable. The effect of predictability of language switching was different between ears. When language switches were predictable, higher comprehension was observed in the left ear than the right ear, and when language switches were unpredictable, higher comprehension was observed in the right ear than the left ear, thereby suggesting a mechanism of asymmetrical language control. WMC was more related to processing of predictable language switches than that of unpredictable language switches. The dissertation ends with discussions of the implications from the seven BDL experiments and possible applications, along with experimental techniques from other relevant disciplines that might be used in future research to yield additional insight into how bilingual listeners sustain their listening performance in their two languages in the real-life situations.

Syfte: Tidigare forskning visar att AEL har påverkan på en säljares prestationer och ger bättre kundrelationer. Syftet med denna studie är att mäta säljares självupplevda förmåga att använda sig av AEL under ett kundmöte och analysera sambandet mellan AEL och deras kön, ålder, erfarenhet samt bruttolön i en kunskapsintensiv bransch. Metod: Studien har tillämpat kvantitativ metod och har ur teorin deducerat hypoteser för att undersöka samband. För datainsamlingen har en sluten webbenkät genomförts. Data har analyserats via korrelationsanalyser i SPSS för att sedan redovisas i tabeller och figurer. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar inte på några samband mellan AEL och lön, ålder samt erfarenhet. Däremot finns det svaga positiva samband mellan AEL och kvinnliga mäklare. Studien visade på samband i frågorna som motsvarar responding och bruttolön, ålder, erfarenhet och kön. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: En självskattad enkät har den begränsningen att respondenten kan underskatta respektive överskatta frågor som framför allt berör attityder. När vi inte kan finna några direkta samband vore det intressant att ur ett kundperspektiv undersöka hur de uppfattar mäklaren. Studien visade på samband i frågorna som motsvarar responding och bruttolön, ålder, erfarenhet och kön. Detta gör att framtida forskning bör fokusera på hur mäklare svarar när de lyssnar och hur kunderna uppfattar att säljaren visar empati. Uppsatsens bidrag: Det visar att AEL inte har ett absolut samband med hur bra en säljare presterar. Ålder och erfarenhet är inte några faktorer som visar på några samband. Det enda som överensstämmer med tidigare forskning är att kvinnor är bättre på att använda sig av AEL. Det praktiska bidraget är en vägledning för chefer hur de skall resonera vid rekrytering och utbildning av personal. Utbildningen måste vara mer verklighetstrogen. / Aim: Previous research shows that AEL impacts a salesperson's performance and provides better customer relationships. The purpose of this study is to measure the salesperson's self-perceived ability to use AEL during client meetings and analyze the relationship between AEL and gender, age, experience, and salary in knowledge-intensive trades. Method: The study applies quantitative methods and theory deduced hypotheses to investigate relationships. A closed web survey was conducted for data collection. Data was analyzed using correlation analysis in SPSS and then presented in tables and figures. Result & Conclusions: The study does not show a relationship between AEL and salary, age or experience. However, there is a weak positive correlation between AEL and female brokers. The study showed a correlation between questions related to responding with salary, age, experience, and gender. Suggestions for future research: One limitation of a self-rated questionnaire is that the respondent may underestimate or overestimate issues that particularly affect attitudes.  It would be interesting from a customer perspective to examine how they perceive the broker in cases where we did not find a direct connection. The study showed a correlation between questions related to responding with salary, age, experience, and gender. This means that future research should focus on how the broker responds when they are listening to the customers and how customers perceive empathy. Contribution of the thesis: We conclude that AEL does not have an absolute connection with how successfully a salesperson is performing. Age and experience are not correlated. The only factor consistent with previous research is that women are better users of AEL. This practical guide managers when discussing the recruitment and training of personnel. Training must be more realistic.