Performance of Monolingual and Bilingual Speakers of English and Spanish on the Synthetic Sentence Identification Test

1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Lopez ◽  
Frederick N. Martin ◽  
Linda M. Thibodeau
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Performance Difference ◽  
English Version ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Stimulus Sentence ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
The Impact

Differences in the performance of adults with normal hearing were evaluated on the English and Spanish versions of the Synthetic Sentence Identification (SSI) test in the ipsilateral competing message (ICM) format. Previous work has shown that bilingual subjects perform significantly better on the Spanish version of the SSI at a –30 dB message-to-competition ratio (MCR). The previous investigators attributed this difference in performance to the existence of a greater number of pauses in the competing message of the Spanish version compared to the English version. In the present study, seven bilingual speakers and ten monolingual speakers each of English and Spanish completed two conditions—the standard competing message (SC) and the competing message mixed with speech noise (SC+N)—in order to reduce or eliminate the effect of pauses on performance. Bilingual subjects’ scores in each language were not significantly different from monolingual subjects’ scores. Scores from bilinguals were significantly better in Spanish compared to English—even when speech noise was used to fill in the natural pauses present in the competing message at a –10 dB MCR. It is suggested that this performance difference may be a result of the unequal average number of syllables per stimulus sentence in the English and Spanish versions. However, further research will be needed to explore the impact that different language structures have on SSI performance.

Hearing Aid Amplification Reduces Communication Effort of People With Hearing Impairment and Their Conversation Partners

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Beechey ◽  
Jörg M. Buchholz ◽  
Gitte Keidser
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
The Impact

Objectives This study investigates the hypothesis that hearing aid amplification reduces effort within conversation for both hearing aid wearers and their communication partners. Levels of effort, in the form of speech production modifications, required to maintain successful spoken communication in a range of acoustic environments are compared to earlier reported results measured in unaided conversation conditions. Design Fifteen young adult normal-hearing participants and 15 older adult hearing-impaired participants were tested in pairs. Each pair consisted of one young normal-hearing participant and one older hearing-impaired participant. Hearing-impaired participants received directional hearing aid amplification, according to their audiogram, via a master hearing aid with gain provided according to the NAL-NL2 fitting formula. Pairs of participants were required to take part in naturalistic conversations through the use of a referential communication task. Each pair took part in five conversations, each of 5-min duration. During each conversation, participants were exposed to one of five different realistic acoustic environments presented through highly open headphones. The ordering of acoustic environments across experimental blocks was pseudorandomized. Resulting recordings of conversational speech were analyzed to determine the magnitude of speech modifications, in terms of vocal level and spectrum, produced by normal-hearing talkers as a function of both acoustic environment and the degree of high-frequency average hearing impairment of their conversation partner. Results The magnitude of spectral modifications of speech produced by normal-hearing talkers during conversations with aided hearing-impaired interlocutors was smaller than the speech modifications observed during conversations between the same pairs of participants in the absence of hearing aid amplification. Conclusions The provision of hearing aid amplification reduces the effort required to maintain communication in adverse conditions. This reduction in effort provides benefit to hearing-impaired individuals and also to the conversation partners of hearing-impaired individuals. By considering the impact of amplification on both sides of dyadic conversations, this approach contributes to an increased understanding of the likely impact of hearing impairment on everyday communication.

scholarly journals Psychometric evaluation and cultural adaptation of the Spanish version of the “Scale for End-of Life Caregiving Appraisal”

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. 314-321
Author(s):  
José Manuel Hernández-Padilla ◽  
Matías Correa-Casado ◽  
José Granero-Molina ◽  
Alda Elena Cortés-Rodríguez ◽  
Tamara María Matarín-Jiménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Content Validity ◽  
Criterion Validity ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Validity Index ◽  
Content Validity Index ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjectiveTo translate, culturally adapt, and psychometrically evaluate the Spanish version of the “Scale for End-of Life Caregiving Appraisal” (SEOLCAS).MethodObservational cross-sectional study. Convenience sample of 201 informal end-of-life caregivers recruited in a southern Spanish hospital. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed through its internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and temporal stability (Pearson's correlation coefficient [r] between test-retest). The content validity index of the items and the scale was calculated. Criterion validity was explored through performing a linear regression analysis to evaluate the SEOLCAS’ predictive validity. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine its construct validity.ResultsThe SEOLCAS’ reliability was very high (Cronbach's α = 0.92). Its content validity was excellent (all items’ content validity index = 0.8–1; scale's validity index = 0.88). Evidence of the SEOLCAS’ criterion validity showed that the participants’ scores on the SEOLCAS explained approximately 79.3% of the between-subject variation of their results on the Zarit Burden Interview. Exploratory factor analysis provided evidence of the SEOLCAS’ construct validity. This analysis revealed that two factors (“internal contingencies” and “external contingencies”) explained 53.77% of the total variance found and reflected the stoic Hispanic attitude toward adversity.Significance of resultsThe Spanish version of the SEOLCAS has shown to be an easily applicable, valid, reliable, and culturally appropriate tool to measure the impact of end-of-life care provision on Hispanic informal caregivers. This tool offers healthcare professionals the opportunity to easily explore Hispanic informal end-of-life caregivers’ experiences and discover the type of support they may need (instrumental or emotional) even when there are communicational and organizational constraints.

scholarly journals A comparison of vocal parameters in adult bilingual Hebrew-English speakers

CoDAS ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 483-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Nevo ◽  
Chaya Nevo ◽  
Gisele Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Frequency Variation ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Acoustic Analyses ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Purpose: There has been growing research on the effects of language on voice characteristics; however, few studies have examined the impact of language on vocal features within bilinguals. This study aimed to compare vocal parameters among bilingual Hebrew/English speaking individuals when speaking in Hebrew versus English. Methods: Forty bilingual participants (17 males and 23 females) between the ages of 23-60 years were asked to spontaneously speak about a neutral topic. Voice samples were digitalized into a tablet for perceptual and acoustic analyses of selected parameters. Results: Results show that there are changes in resonance, glottal attack, fundamental frequency variation and speech rate when adult bilingual speakers talk in Hebrew as compared to English. Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that language plays a role in affecting vocal characteristics of bilingual individuals when they speak different languages.

Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test--Spanish Version

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Cantillano ◽  
Paloma Del Villar ◽  
Lorena Contreras ◽  
Daniel Martínez ◽  
M. Soledad Zuzulich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Identification Test

scholarly journals The impact of bilingualism on brain reserve and metabolic connectivity in Alzheimer's dementia

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (7) ◽  
pp. 1690-1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Perani ◽  
Mohsen Farsad ◽  
Tommaso Ballarini ◽  
Francesca Lubian ◽  
Maura Malpetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuroprotective Effect ◽  
Alzheimer’S Dementia ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Compensatory Mechanisms ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects ◽  
Alzheimer's Dementia ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Metabolic Connectivity ◽  
The Impact

Cognitive reserve (CR) prevents cognitive decline and delays neurodegeneration. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that lifelong bilingualism may act as CR delaying the onset of dementia by ∼4.5 y. Much controversy surrounds the issue of bilingualism and its putative neuroprotective effects. We studied brain metabolism, a direct index of synaptic function and density, and neural connectivity to shed light on the effects of bilingualism in vivo in Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). Eighty-five patients with probable AD and matched for disease duration (45 German-Italian bilingual speakers and 40 monolingual speakers) were included. Notably, bilingual individuals were on average 5 y older than their monolingual peers. In agreement with our predictions and with models of CR, cerebral hypometabolism was more severe in the group of bilingual individuals with AD. The metabolic connectivity analyses crucially supported the neuroprotective effect of bilingualism by showing an increased connectivity in the executive control and the default mode networks in the bilingual, compared with the monolingual, AD patients. Furthermore, the degree of lifelong bilingualism (i.e., high, moderate, or low use) was significantly correlated to functional modulations in crucial neural networks, suggesting both neural reserve and compensatory mechanisms. These findings indicate that lifelong bilingualism acts as a powerful CR proxy in dementia and exerts neuroprotective effects against neurodegeneration. Delaying the onset of dementia is a top priority of modern societies, and the present in vivo neurobiological evidence should stimulate social programs and interventions to support bilingual or multilingual education and the maintenance of the second language among senior citizens.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Cannabis Use Problems Identification Test among Chilean university students: A validation study

2017 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 32-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Cantillano ◽  
Paloma Del Villar ◽  
Lorena Contreras ◽  
Daniel Martínez ◽  
M. Soledad Zuzulich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Validation Study ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Identification Test

scholarly journals Hearing loss is associated with delayed neural responses to continuous speech

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlies Gillis ◽  
Lien Decruy ◽  
Jonas Vanthornhout ◽  
Tom Francart
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Continuous Speech ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Sound Amplification ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWe investigated the impact of hearing loss on the neural processing of speech. Using a forward modelling approach, we compared the neural responses to continuous speech of 14 adults with sensorineural hearing loss with those of age-matched normal-hearing peers.Compared to their normal-hearing peers, hearing-impaired listeners had increased neural tracking and delayed neural responses to continuous speech in quiet. The latency also increased with the degree of hearing loss. As speech understanding decreased, neural tracking decreased in both population; however, a significantly different trend was observed for the latency of the neural responses. For normal-hearing listeners, the latency increased with increasing background noise level. However, for hearing-impaired listeners, this increase was not observed.Our results support that the neural response latency indicates the efficiency of neural speech processing. Hearing-impaired listeners process speech in silence less efficiently then normal-hearing listeners. Our results suggest that this reduction in neural speech processing efficiency is a gradual effect which occurs as hearing deteriorates. Moreover, the efficiency of neural speech processing in hearing-impaired listeners is already at its lowest level when listening to speech in quiet, while normal-hearing listeners show a further decrease in efficiently when the noise level increases.From our results, it is apparent that sound amplification does not solve hearing loss. Even when intelligibility is apparently perfect, hearing-impaired listeners process speech less efficiently.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Semantic Segmentation Models for Identification of Grape with Different Varieties

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 997
Author(s):  
Yun Peng ◽  
Aichen Wang ◽  
Jizhan Liu ◽  
Muhammad Faheem
Keyword(s):  
Image Enhancement ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Semantic Segmentation ◽  
Histogram Equalization ◽  
Performance Difference ◽  
Convolutional Network ◽  
Enhancement Method ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Segmentation Models

Accurate fruit segmentation in images is the prerequisite and key step for precision agriculture. In this article, aiming at the segmentation of grape cluster with different varieties, 3 state-of-the-art semantic segmentation networks, i.e., Fully Convolutional Network (FCN), U-Net, and DeepLabv3+ applied on six different datasets were studied. We investigated: (1) the segmentation performance difference of the 3 studied networks; (2) The impact of different input representations on segmentation performance; (3) The effect of image enhancement method to improve the poor illumination of images and further improve the segmentation performance; (4) The impact of the distance between grape clusters and camera on segmentation performance. The experiment results show that compared with FCN and U-Net the DeepLabv3+ combined with transfer learning is more suitable for the task with an intersection over union (IoU) of 84.26%. Five different input representations, namely RGB, HSV, L*a*b, HHH, and YCrCb obtained different IoU, ranging from 81.5% to 88.44%. Among them, the L*a*b got the highest IoU. Besides, the adopted Histogram Equalization (HE) image enhancement method could improve the model’s robustness against poor illumination conditions. Through the HE preprocessing, the IoU of the enhanced dataset increased by 3.88%, from 84.26% to 88.14%. The distance between the target and camera also affects the segmentation performance, no matter in which dataset, the closer the distance, the better the segmentation performance was. In a word, the conclusion of this research provides some meaningful suggestions for the study of grape or other fruit segmentation.

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