Speech perception is challenging because the acoustic input is extremely variable. This variability partially stems from differences in how talkers pronounce words. For example, Voice Onset Time (VOT) is the primary cue that distinguishes /b/ from /p/. Women tend to use longer Voice Onset Times (VOTs) than men. A VOT of 20 msec could thus be a /b/ spoken by a woman and a /p/ spoken by a man. A critical question is how listeners deal with this variability. Previous research shows that listeners use these regularities (e.g., the systematic relationship between gender and VOT) to compensate for variability. For example, listeners adjust their phoneme category boundary based on talker gender. However, it is unclear the exact mechanisms by which talker gender information influences speech processing. Talker gender could influence only later stages of speech processing, like phoneme categorization. Alternatively, talker gender could modulate the earliest stage: acoustic cue encoding. I use event-related potentials, eye-tracking in the visual world paradigm, and electrocorticography to isolate the specific role of talker gender in speech perception. The results show that the auditory system influences the earliest stage of speech perception by allowing cues to be encoded relative to prior expectations about gender and that gender is integrated with acoustic cues during lexical activation. These experiments give insight into how the brain deals effectively with variability during categorization.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices have been created, and are currently used, in hospital settings to improve communication between those who require adaptive assistance for speaking and writing. AAC devices are typically used by non-oral patients. While interpreters are required to be available for non-English speaking patients within the hospital, they cannot be available at the bedside of the patient at all hours of the day for routine cares. One population in particular who has difficulty communicating without interpreters are those who are deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL) as a primary means of communication. How are these patients supposed to communicate with medical staff when interpreters are not available? This question was the basis for the current project. Previously developed AAC devices for non-oral patients were adapted to create a translation device to improve bedside communication between hospital staff and patients who are deaf. The limited ability to effectively communicate with patients who are deaf argues for the criticality of having a translation device for Deaf patients in the hospital setting.

No description available.

The purpose of this research was to analyze child and clinician factors affecting language therapy outcomes and to analyze the potential bi-directional relationship between child and clinician factors. Transcripts of intervention sessions with one child and one trained examiner were coded for factors relating to children's language ability, examiners' strategies for reaching session targets, and differences in examiners' interactional styles. It was found that differences in children's language ability and examiners' interactional styles did not have a strong relationship with therapy outcomes. Differences were observed in the overall frequency of examiners' strategy use across children; however, examiners were not sensitive to individual children's responsiveness to particular strategies. This is a secondary data analysis on an intervention study, which affects interpretation of the results: variability in examiner and child behaviors was decreased due to adherence to intervention protocol. However, the mismatch between examiner strategies and child responses is of interest. Making clinicians explicitly aware of the many types of elicitation and response strategies available may increase examiners' effectiveness, efficiency, or responsiveness.

No description available.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 38-11, Section: B, page: 5305. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1977.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 38-11, Section: B, page: 5308. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1977.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 33-06, Section: B, page: 2852. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1972.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 33-06, Section: B, page: 2852. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1972.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 33-08, Section: B, page: 4012. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1972.