MARC 主機 00000nam 2200000 4500
001 AAI3211722
005 20070717081618.5
008 070717s2006 s eng d
020 9780542602122
035 (UnM)AAI3211722
040 UnM|cUnM
100 1 Mitchell, Whitney Erin
245 10 Amplifying speech in a noisy classroom: Effects of age,
context, and classroom placement|h[electronic resource]
300 105 p
500 Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-
03, Section: B, page: 1353
500 Adviser: Dan C. Halling
502 Thesis (Ph.D.)--James Madison University, 2006
520 Typical classrooms have proven to have acoustical
characteristics that can hinder speech recognition
ability. Strategies for improving the acoustical classroom
environment, and therefore improving speech perception,
have involved modifying the classroom and providing
classroom amplification technology. In this study, the
effect of a relatively inexpensive portable amplification
device on speech-recognition ability for both young adult
and elderly listeners was investigated. This study also
looked at the role of listener placement, contextual
information, and listeners' subjective expectations of
benefit
520 Benefit from the amplification device was determined by
means of speech-recognition performance as measured with
the SPIN test. The SPIN test materials were presented and
rerecorded in an unoccupied university classroom using
KEMAR. The SPIN test was recorded in four different
locations, with and without the aid of a portable desktop
amplification device and presented to fifteen young adult
and fifteen elderly adult participants. A different list
was presented for each condition (4 locations x 2
amplification conditions), with lists being randomly
assigned to condition. At the completion of each sentence
list the participants rated the perceived difficulty and
estimation of their performance on the most recently
presented list of sentences
520 Major findings of this study include: (a) the use of the
portable amplification device significantly improved SPIN
test performance, (b) young adult listeners had
significantly higher SPIN test scores in all conditions
compared to elderly adult listeners, (c) SPIN test
performance was significantly better in the front of the
classroom versus the back of the classroom, (d) SPIN test
performance was significantly superior for conditions when
listeners were "closer" to the amplification device, and
(e) SPIN test performance was significantly better for
high-predictability sentences versus low-predictability
sentences. These findings confirm the importance of
amplified speech in a classroom environment for both young
adult and elderly listeners, even with an economically-
priced portable system. In addition, the results of the
study show that location in the classroom is an important
factor to consider, at least with this type of
amplification device. The study's results also imply that
context is an important factor to consider in speech
recognition and that the young and elderly receive
equivalent benefit from contextual information
590 School code: 1357
650 4 Health Sciences, Audiology
690 0300
710 20 James Madison University
773 0 |tDissertation Abstracts International|g67-03B
856 40 |uhttps://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/
advanced?query=3211722
912 PQDT
