Older adults with sensorineural hearing loss have greater difficulty understanding speech than younger adults with equivalent hearing (Gates & Mills, 2005). This increased difficulty may be related to the influence of peripheral, central auditory processing or cognitive deficits and although this has been extensively debated the relative contribution to speech understanding is equivocal (Working Group on Speech Understanding and Aging, 1988). Furthermore, changes to the speech mechanism that occur as a result of age lead to natural degradations of signal quality. Studies involving hearing impaired listeners have not examined the influence of such naturally degraded speech signals. The purpose of this study was to determine: (1) whether older hearing impaired listeners demonstrate differences in speech understanding ability or perceived effort of listening on the basis of the age of the speaker and the predictability of the stimulus, and (2) whether any individual differences in speech understanding were related to central auditory processing ability. The participants included nineteen native speakers of New Zealand English ranging in age from 60 to 87 years (mean = 71.4 years) with age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Each participant underwent a full audiological assessment, three measures of central auditory processing (the Dichotic Digits Test, the Random Gap Detection Test and the Staggered Spondaic Words Test), and completed a computer-based listening experiment containing phrases of high and low predictability spoken by two groups: (1) young adults (18 – 30 years) and (2) older adults (70 years and above). Participants were required to repeat stimulus phrases as heard, with the researcher entering orthographic transcriptions into the custom-designed computer programme. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine if significant differences existed in percentage words correct scores as a factor of speaker group (young versus older speakers) and stimulus predictability (high predictability versus low predictability phrases), with level of presentation (dB) as a covariate. Results demonstrated that although there were no significant differences in percentage words correct with regards to speaker group as expected, lower scores were achieved for low predictability phrases. In addition, increased listener effort was required when listening to the speech from the older adult group and during the low predictability phrase condition. Positive correlations were found between word understanding scores and tests of dichotic separation, which suggests that central auditory processing deficits contribute to the speech understanding difficulties of older adults. The implications of these findings for audiological assessment and rehabilitation are explored.

Dabarties eilėraščiui ypač reikšminga kultūrinė žanro atmintis. Ji teikia papildomų prasmių. XXI amžiuje lyrikos žanrinis skirstymas nebėra aktualus. Labai dažnai sumaišomi gyvi ir nebegyvi žanrų elementai. Tačiau XX amžiuje buvo rašytojų, kurie pasirinkdavo vieną ar kitą žanrą, arba – bent jau žanro elementus savo poezijai. Tokie turinio ir formos elementai būdavo apjungiami į moderniąją visumą. Moderniosios lietuvių literatūros ištakos – Vakarų Europos literatūros tendencijų plėtotė XX amžiaus vidurio lietuvių prozoje ir poezijoje. Šiuo laikotarpiu Lietuvoje susiformavo ir Vakarų Europoje subrendo poetų žemininkų karta – poetų karta, kurios kūrybai įtaką darė ne tik Lietuvos kultūrinis modernizmas, bet ir Europos literatūros ištakos bei moderniausioji Vakarų Europos kultūra. Jonas Mekas yra retai analizuojamas literatūrinės kritikos. Poeto lyrika nagrinėta prarasto rojaus, gamtos kaitos, laiko ir erdvės įvaizdžių aspektais. Jo poezija, kaip pažymi kritikai savo straipsniuose, įtvirtino naują daiktiškumą. Iš keturių idilių laidų daugiausia dėmesio sulaukė 1955 metų laida. Pasirodžius šiam leidimui savo kritinį požiūrį Henrikas Nagys pateikia 1957 metų Literatūros lankų laikraštyje. / The literary searching of the 20th century Lithuania’s poets lead to the modern changes of the genre. In Jonas Mekas’ ‘Semeniskiu idiles’ lyrical subject is divided into subject-speaker and subject-observer. In ‘Semeniskiu idiles’ the time consists of two parts. The big circle of time belongs to the subject-speaker and it is his journey of one year in ‘lost paradise’ cycle of nature. The speaker using his senses and memory becomes the observer in the small circle of time. The space consists of two parts in ‘Semeniskiu idiles’. The big circle of space is the view which is seen by lyrical subject. In the small circle of space the lyrical subject-observer using his senses pays attention to concrete objects. Jonas Mekas can be named as the landowners.

Foreign accent can be everything from hardly detectable to rendering the second language speech unintelligible. It is assumed that certain aspects of a specific target language contribute more to making the foreign accented speech intelligible and listener friendly, than others. The present thesis examines a teaching strategy for Swedish pronunciation in second language education. The teaching strategy “Basic prosody” or BP, gives priority to temporal aspects of Swedish prosody, which means the temporal phonological contrasts word stress and quantity, as well as the durational realizations of these contrasts. BP does not prescribe any specific tonal realizations. This standpoint is based on the great regional variety in realization and distribution of Swedish word accents. The teaching strategy consists virtually of three directives: · Stress the proper word in the sentence. · Stress proper syllables in stressed words and make them longer. · Lengthen the proper segment – vowel or subsequent consonant – in the stressed syllable. These directives reflect the view that all phonological length is stress-induced, and that vowel length and consonant length are equally important as learning goals. BP is examined in the light of existing findings in the field of second language pronunciation and with respect to the phonetic correlates of Swedish stress and quantity. Five studies examine the relation between segment durations and the categorization made by native Swedish listeners. The results indicate that the postvocalic consonant duration contributes to quantity categorization as well as giving the proper duration to stressed syllables. Furthermore, native Swedish speakers are shown to apply the complementary /V: C/ - /VC:/ pattern also when speaking English and German, by lengthening postvocalic consonants. The correctness of the priority is not directly addressed but important aspects of BP are supported by earlier findings as well as the results from the present studies. / <p>För att köpa boken skicka en beställning till exp@ling.su.se/ To order the book send an e-mail to exp@ling.su.se</p>

Territorialidade de resistência é a denominação dada nesse trabalho para os grupos de cultura de identidade que contestam a imposição da cultura majoritária a partir da sua singularidade de grupo que tentam preservar e ampliar seus projetos políticos de expansão de suas territorialidades. Esse trabalho apresenta indicativos metodológicos para a análise dessas territorialidades, cuja reflexão parte da discussão sobre a territorialidade de resistência da cultura surda com enfoque na língua brasileira de sinais (Libras) como elemento fundamental para a constituição das comunidades surdas como grupo de cultura de identidade. Para comprovar a constituição das comunidades surdas em territorialidades de resistência, são empregadas metodologias e referenciais teóricos da Nova História Cultural. Essas metodologias envolvem a análise de discurso da autobiografia entusiástica e interpelação presente nos depoimentos de surdos extraídos das obras de Strobel (2008) e Costa (2007). A seleção dos fragmentos dos depoimentos dos entrevistados apresentados pelas duas pesquisadoras citadas seguiu três critérios: utilização da língua de sinais em condições desfavoráveis como forma de resistência à vigilância ouvinte; atitudes e medidas de repressão aos surdos por usarem a língua de sinais; narrativas dos surdos que tomam a língua de sinais como principal elemento identitário. Nos depoimentos citados são destacados em negrito os fragmentos dos discursos referentes aos três critérios mencionados com o intuito de comprovar a utilização da língua de sinais como mito fundacional da cultura surda e a respectiva constituição de territorialidade de resistência. Trata-se, portanto, da análise de fontes secundárias com utilização metodológica da Nova História Cultural mediante a análise de fragmentos de discurso que expressem a interpelação, a autobiografia entusiástica e o uso da língua de sinais como mito fundador que fortalece as comunidades surdas enquanto grupo de cultura de identidade a partir da autodenominação de povo surdo. / Territoriality of resistance is the name given in this thesis for the identity culture groups that challenge the imposition of the majority culture on the basis of their group singularity, and which try to preserve and enhance their political projects of expansion of their territorialities. This study presents methodological indicatives for the analysis of these territorialities, a reflection on the basis of the discussion about territoriality of resistance of the deaf culture with a focus on the Brazilian sign language (Libras) as a fundamental element for the constitution of deaf communities as a culture and identity group. To substantiate the assertion that deaf communities are territorialities of resistance, methodologies and theoretical references from the New Cultural History are employed. These methodologies involve discourse analysis of the enthusiastic autobiography and questioning present in testimonies by deaf people extracted from the works of Strobel (2008) and Costa (2007). The selection of testimony fragments of the interviewees presented by the two authors followed three criteria: utilization of sign language in unfavorable conditions as a form of resistance to the listening vigilance; attitudes and measures of repression of deaf people for their usage of sign language; narratives of deaf people that take sign language as their main identity element. In the cited testimonies, the portions dedicated to these three criteria are in bold with the intention of substantiating the claim that the usage of sign language is the founding myth of deaf culture and the corresponding constitution of a territoriality of resistance. It is, therefore, the analysis of secondary sources with usage of New Cultural History methodologies through the analysis of discourse fragments that express questioning, enthusiastic autobiography and the usage of sign language as a founding myth that strengthens the deaf community as a culture and identity group on the basis of the self-determination of the deaf people.

Territorialidade de resistência é a denominação dada nesse trabalho para os grupos de cultura de identidade que contestam a imposição da cultura majoritária a partir da sua singularidade de grupo que tentam preservar e ampliar seus projetos políticos de expansão de suas territorialidades. Esse trabalho apresenta indicativos metodológicos para a análise dessas territorialidades, cuja reflexão parte da discussão sobre a territorialidade de resistência da cultura surda com enfoque na língua brasileira de sinais (Libras) como elemento fundamental para a constituição das comunidades surdas como grupo de cultura de identidade. Para comprovar a constituição das comunidades surdas em territorialidades de resistência, são empregadas metodologias e referenciais teóricos da Nova História Cultural. Essas metodologias envolvem a análise de discurso da autobiografia entusiástica e interpelação presente nos depoimentos de surdos extraídos das obras de Strobel (2008) e Costa (2007). A seleção dos fragmentos dos depoimentos dos entrevistados apresentados pelas duas pesquisadoras citadas seguiu três critérios: utilização da língua de sinais em condições desfavoráveis como forma de resistência à vigilância ouvinte; atitudes e medidas de repressão aos surdos por usarem a língua de sinais; narrativas dos surdos que tomam a língua de sinais como principal elemento identitário. Nos depoimentos citados são destacados em negrito os fragmentos dos discursos referentes aos três critérios mencionados com o intuito de comprovar a utilização da língua de sinais como mito fundacional da cultura surda e a respectiva constituição de territorialidade de resistência. Trata-se, portanto, da análise de fontes secundárias com utilização metodológica da Nova História Cultural mediante a análise de fragmentos de discurso que expressem a interpelação, a autobiografia entusiástica e o uso da língua de sinais como mito fundador que fortalece as comunidades surdas enquanto grupo de cultura de identidade a partir da autodenominação de povo surdo. / Territoriality of resistance is the name given in this thesis for the identity culture groups that challenge the imposition of the majority culture on the basis of their group singularity, and which try to preserve and enhance their political projects of expansion of their territorialities. This study presents methodological indicatives for the analysis of these territorialities, a reflection on the basis of the discussion about territoriality of resistance of the deaf culture with a focus on the Brazilian sign language (Libras) as a fundamental element for the constitution of deaf communities as a culture and identity group. To substantiate the assertion that deaf communities are territorialities of resistance, methodologies and theoretical references from the New Cultural History are employed. These methodologies involve discourse analysis of the enthusiastic autobiography and questioning present in testimonies by deaf people extracted from the works of Strobel (2008) and Costa (2007). The selection of testimony fragments of the interviewees presented by the two authors followed three criteria: utilization of sign language in unfavorable conditions as a form of resistance to the listening vigilance; attitudes and measures of repression of deaf people for their usage of sign language; narratives of deaf people that take sign language as their main identity element. In the cited testimonies, the portions dedicated to these three criteria are in bold with the intention of substantiating the claim that the usage of sign language is the founding myth of deaf culture and the corresponding constitution of a territoriality of resistance. It is, therefore, the analysis of secondary sources with usage of New Cultural History methodologies through the analysis of discourse fragments that express questioning, enthusiastic autobiography and the usage of sign language as a founding myth that strengthens the deaf community as a culture and identity group on the basis of the self-determination of the deaf people.

Territorialidade de resistência é a denominação dada nesse trabalho para os grupos de cultura de identidade que contestam a imposição da cultura majoritária a partir da sua singularidade de grupo que tentam preservar e ampliar seus projetos políticos de expansão de suas territorialidades. Esse trabalho apresenta indicativos metodológicos para a análise dessas territorialidades, cuja reflexão parte da discussão sobre a territorialidade de resistência da cultura surda com enfoque na língua brasileira de sinais (Libras) como elemento fundamental para a constituição das comunidades surdas como grupo de cultura de identidade. Para comprovar a constituição das comunidades surdas em territorialidades de resistência, são empregadas metodologias e referenciais teóricos da Nova História Cultural. Essas metodologias envolvem a análise de discurso da autobiografia entusiástica e interpelação presente nos depoimentos de surdos extraídos das obras de Strobel (2008) e Costa (2007). A seleção dos fragmentos dos depoimentos dos entrevistados apresentados pelas duas pesquisadoras citadas seguiu três critérios: utilização da língua de sinais em condições desfavoráveis como forma de resistência à vigilância ouvinte; atitudes e medidas de repressão aos surdos por usarem a língua de sinais; narrativas dos surdos que tomam a língua de sinais como principal elemento identitário. Nos depoimentos citados são destacados em negrito os fragmentos dos discursos referentes aos três critérios mencionados com o intuito de comprovar a utilização da língua de sinais como mito fundacional da cultura surda e a respectiva constituição de territorialidade de resistência. Trata-se, portanto, da análise de fontes secundárias com utilização metodológica da Nova História Cultural mediante a análise de fragmentos de discurso que expressem a interpelação, a autobiografia entusiástica e o uso da língua de sinais como mito fundador que fortalece as comunidades surdas enquanto grupo de cultura de identidade a partir da autodenominação de povo surdo. / Territoriality of resistance is the name given in this thesis for the identity culture groups that challenge the imposition of the majority culture on the basis of their group singularity, and which try to preserve and enhance their political projects of expansion of their territorialities. This study presents methodological indicatives for the analysis of these territorialities, a reflection on the basis of the discussion about territoriality of resistance of the deaf culture with a focus on the Brazilian sign language (Libras) as a fundamental element for the constitution of deaf communities as a culture and identity group. To substantiate the assertion that deaf communities are territorialities of resistance, methodologies and theoretical references from the New Cultural History are employed. These methodologies involve discourse analysis of the enthusiastic autobiography and questioning present in testimonies by deaf people extracted from the works of Strobel (2008) and Costa (2007). The selection of testimony fragments of the interviewees presented by the two authors followed three criteria: utilization of sign language in unfavorable conditions as a form of resistance to the listening vigilance; attitudes and measures of repression of deaf people for their usage of sign language; narratives of deaf people that take sign language as their main identity element. In the cited testimonies, the portions dedicated to these three criteria are in bold with the intention of substantiating the claim that the usage of sign language is the founding myth of deaf culture and the corresponding constitution of a territoriality of resistance. It is, therefore, the analysis of secondary sources with usage of New Cultural History methodologies through the analysis of discourse fragments that express questioning, enthusiastic autobiography and the usage of sign language as a founding myth that strengthens the deaf community as a culture and identity group on the basis of the self-determination of the deaf people.

Social constructionism offers a framework that acknowledges the predominance of language in the construction of meaning. Society at large has begun to question the assumptions that are made by empirical paradigms of science. Rather than looking for so-called “truth” social constructionism is interested in the values that underlie specific constructions of meaning. In this dissertation, reminiscence in older individuals is studied from the perspective of social constructionism. In social constructionism the unheard voices and the hidden subtexts are revealed. Most research up to now focuses on the meaning that reminiscence has for the teller of personal stories. Very little emphasis is placed in the current literature on the listener and even less acknowledgement is given to reminiscence as an activity that takes place in relationship. The emphasis in this study is therefore to include the listener in the ongoing conversation about reminiscence. Different voices are juxtaposed, with three participants writing about their experiences as listeners. The question of how reminiscence contributes to both meaning and identity is posed. A holistic content analysis conducted from a narrative perspective follows. To conclude, the author not only makes her own values explicit throughout the study, but invites the reader to become a participant and to add another voice to those voices included in the study. The reading of the study thus becomes an interactive process. Copyright 2005, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Beneke, M 2005, The way it was, the way it is : reminiscence as intergenerational construction of identity, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02242006-125424 / > / Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

In an age where there seems to be a loss of confidence on the transforming power of gospel preaching this study addresses the following hypothesis: “The transforming power of gospel preaching to an audience influenced by post modernism”. The following methodology was used in this study: -- A Literature study -- Practical-theological method A Theological Model for Preaching God has spoken, it is written and preach the word are identified as three essential theological foundations for preaching. Expository preaching is explored as a model that understands the seriousness of the task of accurately and relevantly proclaiming the revealed Word of God. Expository preaching is not a matter of style at all. In fact, the determinative step that decides whether a sermon is going to be expository or not takes place before a single word has been actually written or spoken. First and foremost, the adjective ‘expository’ describes the method by which the preacher decides what to say, not how to say it. The key principles of expository preaching are then discussed. The Postmodern Audience People from all walks of life are exposed, at least to some extent, to the trends and influences of their particular day. Those present in Church services week by week are not exempt from these new ideas, trends and pressures. The intention here is to understand the person influenced by postmodernity. Ten distinct features of postmodernism are explored to understand the impact that they may have on a postmodern influenced congregation. In addition to the distinctive features of postmodernism some of the common features of people from all cultures is explored. Engaging the Postmodern Audience Preaching the gospel may involve confrontation but there are ways to confront and effectively challenge both postmodern beliefs and biblical unbelief. Methods of effective engagement like building relationships, tuning into the secular world and a more apologetic approach are discussed. In addition to this, various practices of effective communicators like a dialogical approach, inductive preaching, storytelling, the use of media and humour are explored. The study recognizes the essential work of the Holy Spirit and an unavoidable focus of Jesus Christ in preaching. An Adjusted Theory for Praxis The thesis tested the transforming power of gospel preaching to an audience influenced by post modernism and confirmed the usefulness of preaching. In the light of the literature study and empirical research conducted at the Central Baptist Church Pretoria, some adjustments in preaching praxis and ministry needs to be prioritised: One, Make more use of the inductive rather than deductive approach in preaching, particularly in the area of evangelism but not exclusively, thereby consciously developing clearer dialogue with the listeners participating in the process reaching conclusions together. Two, In as much as there must be concentrated effort and hard work in the area of methodology and technique the preacher must perpetually cultivate a greater dependence on God the Holy Spirit who ultimately is the Sacred Communicator. / Dissertation (MA (Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

In live sound reinforcements scenarios, the majority of the audience is placed in a non- optimal listening position and will not experience the stereophonic image as intended by the mixing engineer. This study was conducted to examine the impact of a central loudspeaker source and phantom center, on the stereophonic image from different listening positions. Sixteen subjects, consisting of audio engineering students and professionals, were subjected to an optimal and non-optimal listening position and a three channel and stereo system, and was asked to estimate the perceived location of a stimulus, consisting of a 40 ms 1 kHz tone, placed on five different locations within the panorama. The results of these test were then summarized and analyzed by utilizing three t-tests in order to examine; the difference between perceived and intended location for each combination of system configuration and listening position, the difference between the listening positions and the difference between system configurations. The results show that a three-channel system is less affected by the listening position than a stereo system, indicating that a three-channel system can provide a more similar experience to audience members regardless of their listening position. However, the preference of system configuration is not examined and should be examined before making the claim that one system configuration is superior. The number of t-test conducted may also have impacted the results and provided a false significance. Subsequent studies could be made to confirm or reject the results of this study.

Second language (L2) learners of English must learn to produce English phonemes, words, and sentences. These L2 learners make many errors when learning English; they may change the place or manner of articulation, insert vowels, or delete consonants. Obstruent sounds, such as fricatives, affricates, and stops, can be especially difficult for L2 learners. This study analyzed native English speakers’ perception of the quality of obstruents produced by native Mandarin Chinese and Korean speakers. Target words containing obstruents had been produced in three different tasks: in a carrier phrase, in a paragraph, and in a spontaneous speech sample. Obstruents were produced in word-initial position and word-final position. Raters with differing levels of expertise listened to these words and rated the perceptual quality of the obstruents within the words. This study found that overall, English obstruent productions by native Mandarin and Korean L2 speakers learning English were rated most clear when produced in word-initial position in a carrier phrase or a paragraph. The lowest ratings given were of obstruents in word-final position in spontaneous speech. No significant differences were found for listener expertise level. Combined with future research, results from this study will help educate the field of second language instruction as to how the speech of Korean and Mandarin learners of English is perceived. It also provides additional information on the effect that listener expertise has on the judgment of L2 speech production.