Background: Since the 1940s, measures of pure-tone sensitivity and speech recognition in quiet have been vital components of the audiologic evaluation. Although early investigators urged that speech recognition in noise also should be a component of the audiologic evaluation, only recently has this suggestion started to become a reality. This report focuses on the Words-in-Noise (WIN) Test, which evaluates word recognition in multitalker babble at seven signal-to-noise ratios and uses the 50% correct point (in dB SNR) calculated with the Spearman-Kärber equation as the primary metric. The WIN was developed and validated in a series of 12 laboratory studies. The current study examined the effectiveness of the WIN materials for measuring the word-recognition performance of patients in a typical clinical setting. Purpose: To examine the relations among three audiometric measures including pure-tone thresholds, word-recognition performances in quiet, and word-recognition performances in multitalker babble for veterans seeking remediation for their hearing loss. Research Design: Retrospective, descriptive. Study Sample: The participants were 3430 veterans who for the most part were evaluated consecutively in the Audiology Clinic at the VA Medical Center, Mountain Home, Tennessee. The mean age was 62.3 yr (SD = 12.8 yr). Data Collection and Analysis: The data were collected in the course of a 60 min routine audiologic evaluation. A history, otoscopy, and aural-acoustic immittance measures also were included in the clinic protocol but were not evaluated in this report. Results: Overall, the 1000-8000 Hz thresholds were significantly lower (better) in the right ear (RE) than in the left ear (LE). There was a direct relation between age and the pure-tone thresholds, with greater change across age in the high frequencies than in the low frequencies. Notched audiograms at 4000 Hz were observed in at least one ear in 41% of the participants with more unilateral than bilateral notches. Normal pure-tone thresholds (≤20 dB HL) were obtained from 6% of the participants. Maximum performance on the Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) in quiet was ≥90% correct by 50% of the participants, with an additional 20% performing at ≥80% correct; the RE performed 1-3% better than the LE. Of the 3291 who completed the WIN on both ears, only 7% exhibited normal performance (50% correct point of ≤6 dB SNR). Overall, WIN performance was significantly better in the RE (mean = 13.3 dB SNR) than in the LE (mean = 13.8 dB SNR). Recognition performance on both the NU-6 and the WIN decreased as a function of both pure-tone hearing loss and age. There was a stronger relation between the high-frequency pure-tone average (1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz) and the WIN than between the pure-tone average (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) and the WIN. Conclusions: The results on the WIN from both the previous laboratory studies and the current clinical study indicate that the WIN is an appropriate clinic instrument to assess word-recognition performance in background noise. Recognition performance on a speech-in-quiet task does not predict performance on a speech-in-noise task, as the two tasks reflect different domains of auditory function. Experience with the WIN indicates that word-in-noise tasks should be considered the "stress test" for auditory function.

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In this master’s thesis, I shall examine Graham Greene’s place in criticism of the British novel by focusing on The Third Man and The Quiet American. In terms of theoretical approach, I shall focus on a close, critical reading of the texts employing elements of cultural, historical, psychological, and genre criticism. With the films, I shall focus on lighting and shot formation along with the abilities of the directors and actors. These works have not been studied jointly before as literature or as film or as a combination thereof. Nevertheless, such study proves worthwhile. My thesis is also the first lengthy comparison of the two film versions of The Quiet American. Given that Phillip Noyce’s 2002 film is so new, little lengthy criticism exists. Even though Joseph Mankiewicz’s 1957 film has been available for over forty years, no serious scholarship exists on it. My thesis will fill this critical lacuna.

The most common way to measure postural stability is to examine the displacement of the center of pressure (CoP). But some scientists claim that the center of mass (CoM) is what really indicates the sway of the whole body, since the body is a multi-joint system. Many previous studies of human balance have targeted groups with diffrent kinds of balance impairments. In a recent study C. Lidbeck investigated factors influencing standing in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (BSCP). The conclusion of that study was that the crouched position, that is common with this kind of disability, was not found to be related to strength and not entirely related to the degree of their motor disorders. In this thesis a number methods were chosen to assess the postural stability of children with BSCP, using both the CoP and the CoM. The hypothesis was that the different methods would show different aspects of the children's balance impairment. Also, the influence of visual stimuli on the crouching position was examined. The long term aim is that the results may contribute to a deeper understanding of the balance disturbances that often accompany this group of children. 16 children with BSCP (GMFCS level I-III) and 20 typically developing (TD) children were included in the study. Data was collected, before the start of this project, using two force plates and an eight-camera 3D motion analysis system with passive markers. The children performed three different standing tasks during 30 seconds each; quiet standing, blindfolded and an attention-task. Five methods were chosen (based on previous literature) and implemented in Matlab to examine the postural stability of the two groups during the three tasks. Result shows that all methods used can clearly distinguish between the balance in the BSCP group and the TD group. When comparing the quiet standing task with the blindfolded task in the BSCP group, there were some significant results from the statistical evaluation (P$<$0.05). The result from several of the methods indicated that the children of this group have better postural stability when blindfolded, which is not in agreement with previous literature. In contrast, one method using the total mean velocity indicated that the postural stability decreased. During the attention-task, the methods disagreed with each other, implying a change in balance strategy in the BSCP group that was different from the TD group. Four methods are suggested for future studies, two using the CoP and two using the CoM. These four methods highlighted different aspects of the data and in combination they may provide a bigger picture of the postural stability of children with BSCP. Even though there were no significant difference in the vertical displacement of the CoM between the BSCP and the TD group, the CoM was slightly elevated during the attention-task in the BSCP group. In the TD group the CoM was lowered during the same task. This indicates that the children with BSCP in this study straighten up a bit when they can focus on something outside of their own body.

A pilot study had previously demonstrated the utility of a tranquillity prediction tool TRAPT for use in 3 green open spaces in a densely populated area. This allows the calculation of perceived levels of tranquillity in open spaces. The current study expands the range of sites to 8 and importantly considers the views of visitors to these spaces. In total 252 face to face interviews were conducted in these spaces. An important aim of the survey was to determine the extent to which reported tranquillity obtained from the questionnaire survey could be predicted by a previously developed prediction tool TRAPT. A further aim was to determine what additional factors may need to be considered in addition to the purely physical descriptors in TRAPT. The questions included the sounds and sights that were noticed, factors affecting tranquillity as well as questions relating to the benefits of visiting these areas. Predictions were considered satisfactory and could be further improved by taking account of issues surrounding personal safety. Examining the trends in these data it was also shown that the percentage of people feeling more relaxed after visiting the spaces was closely related to overall assessments of perceived tranquillity. Further trends and their implications are presented and discussed in the paper. / Made available in full text March 2014 at the end of the publisher's embargo period.

<p dir="ltr">The Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel (BAM6QT) was used for a set of experiments studying the effect of isolated roughness elements on boundary-layer transition on a 7° half-angle cone. In quiet flow, the cone was tested at Reynolds numbers of 7.4 × 10e6 /m, 10.2 × 10e6 /m, and 13.0 × 10e6 /m. Tests were also completed at Re = 11.0 × 10e6 /m in noisy flow to examine the effects of freestream noise. The cone was set at both 0° and 6° angle of attack and an isolated, square trip oriented like a diamond with respect to the flow direction was attached before each set of runs. </p><p dir="ltr">Using infrared thermography and pressure transducers, the location of transition onset was estimated for each test. The results followed all expected trends: transition moved upstream as trip height increased, transition occurred earlier at higher freestream Reynolds numbers, and transition was significantly delayed in quiet flow compared to noisy flow. Mean flow solutions were generated to calculate correlation values commonly used to predict transition. Theexperimentaldatawasthenusedinconjunctionwiththesecorrelationvalues to identify a range of critical values that could be used to predict transition behavior. </p><p dir="ltr">Additionally, a z-type schlieren setup was developed for the BAM6QT. Various components were upgraded and standard procedures for aligning the system were developed. A new pulsed laser and high-speed camera were integrated into the system to enable schlieren imaging at up to 1.75M fps. The final configuration allows the schlieren system to be used for various applications with minimal adjustments, and has been utilized in many research projects in the BAM6QT.</p>

This study examines the long-run accuracy of analyst recommendations issued at the expiration of the initial public offering (IPO) quiet period and examines the relation between the Global Settlement, NYSE Rule 472, NASD Rule 2711, and analyst recommendations. It is expected that firms which receive positive recommendations will outperform the market and firms with neutral recommendations. In addition, it is expected that banks named in the Global Settlement will become more selective when issuing recommendations. This study examines firms engaging in IPOs from July 9, 2002 through December 31, 2005 and finds that analyst ratings have become more balanced following the Global Settlement, NYSE Rule 472, and NASD Rule 2711. When controlling for firm size, underpricing, rating heterogeneity, and analyst affiliation, firms which receive positive analyst ratings experience greater buy-and-hold abnormal returns than firms which do not. Furthermore, firms which receive multiple “buy” ratings outperform firms which receive only one “buy” rating when controlling for underpricing firm size, and the number of neutral ratings. Banks named in the Global Settlement appear to be more selective when issuing positive recommendations. Firms which receive a positive rating from a bank named in the Global Settlement outperform firms which receive a positive rating from a bank not named in the Global Settlement. Lastly, prior to the Global Settlement, it appears that sanctioned banks issued ratings one level higher than they should have. Firms which received positive ratings experienced neutral performance and firms which received natural ratings experienced negative performance. Since the Global Settlement, sanctioned banks appear to issue accurate ratings since positive ratings are associated with increased buy-and-hold abnormal returns and neutral ratings do not significantly impact firm performance.

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This study examines the relationships between anti-work orientation which questions and critiques the role of work in our lives, organizational dehumanization where the employee feels objectified by their employer and feels like just a tool, counterproductive work behavior which includes employee behavior which harms the work organization or other employees, and quiet quitting where employees do the bare minimum required by their employer. Due to the lack of previous research, we examined the effect of the level of conscientiousness as a control variable in our regression models. Data was gathered from adult respondents with work experience in a non-management position (n= 257). Results indicate that anti-work orientation and organizational dehumanization significantly predict quiet quitting, suggesting their potential to cause employee disengagement. In contrast, their effects on counterproductive work behavior were not significant, possibly due to a floor effect. Conscientiousness was a robust predictor of counterproductive work behavior and quiet quitting, indicating that conscientious employees engage in less deviant or disengagement behaviors. Exploratory analysis revealed a weak negative correlation between age and quiet quitting, and that Millennials show higher anti-work orientation than Generation X. These findings underscore the need for organizational strategies that promote more humanistic approaches, such as promoting supportive leadership and increasing employee autonomy in order to enhance employee engagement.