Sixteen listeners (10 expert, 6 naive) judged the dissimilarity of pairs of voices drawn from pathological and normal populations. Only parameters that showed substantial variability were perceptually salient across listeners. Results suggest that traditional means of assessing listener reliability in voice perception tasks may not be appropriate.…

This paper describes the Vocal Demodulator as a new device for analysis of vocal tremor. The Vocal Demodulator produces amplitude-demodulated and frequency-demodulated outputs and measures the frequency and level of low-frequency tremor components in sustained phonation. The paper describes quantification of the demodulation process, validation…

A 2-microphone dereverberation technique was evaluated by obtaining speech recognition measures and preference judgments from 10 normal-hearing adults and 7 older adult hearing-impaired listeners. Both groups had higher scores at the shorter reverberation time than at the longer reverberation time. Hearing-impaired subjects performed significantly…

Two experiments investigating interval-by-interval interjudge and intrajudge agreement for stuttered and nonstuttered speech intervals found that training of judges could improve reliability levels; judges with relatively high intrajudge agreement also showed relatively higher interjudge agreement; and interval-by-interval interjudge agreement was…

Positron emission tomography imaging was used to evaluate the brain's response to auditory stimulation, including speech, in deaf adults (five with cochlear implants and one with an auditory brainstem implant). Functional speech processing was associated with activation in areas classically associated with speech processing. (Contains five…

This article provides an introduction to the use of event-related potential (ERP) approaches to study language processes. First, a brief history of the emergence of this technology is presented, followed by definitions, a theoretical overview, and a practical guide to conducting ERP studies. Examples of language studies that use this technique are…

In the field of computer aided language learning (CALL), there is a need for emphasizing the importance of the user. "User-Centered Computer Aided Language Learning" presents methodologies, strategies, and design approaches for building interfaces for a user-centered CALL environment, creating a deeper understanding of the opportunities and…

The principal focus of this study is an investigation of whether students' grade point average (GPA) is a viable criterion for forming student work groups in the undergraduate Legal Environment of Business course. More specifically, the research focuses on the impact of: (1) GPA-homogeneous (HO) and GPA-heterogeneous (HE) groups upon student…

Brief case studies of three projects are presented to illustrate the steps which open "Wonderful Programs" to evaluation research. The evaluator is provided with the perspective needed to believe the evaluation is worth doing. The project staff is then redirected to the need for a new type of evidence. An ongoing review of the commitment…

In this discussion of the Alternating Treatment Design (ATD) in early childhood special education programs, two studies illustrate the use of ATD for comparing a treatment with no treatment and for comparing two or more treatments. An eight-step procedure is outlined to facilitate classroom application. (Author)

The reactivity of normal preschool children's peer praising behavior to observer presence was investigated during baseline and intervention conditions. Evaluation of an intervention package designed to increase peer praising suggested reactivity to observation during intervention. Results have implications for evaluation of internal validity of…

Describes origin, development, and current state of Research Libraries Information Network's (RLIN) Command Analysis System, which digests large quantities of raw data on RLIN use and performance and produces useful graphs and reports. Recent results of system and pragmatic issues in analysis of online systems are noted. (7 references) (EJS)

Effectiveness of school health education programs is judged by the extent the programs are disseminated and maintained in the classroom. This paper reviews concepts, strategies, and methods used to study dissemination and implementation, specifies functions of this research, and describes procedures that evaluate effectiveness of dissemination and…

A survey of over 200 English comprehensive schools revealed that nearly half the schools had either implemented or were about to implement staff appraisal schemes. The survey emphasizes the definitional problem of appraisal; some styles of appraisal were the same as staff development. (MLF)

Two strategies for assessing item bias are discussed: methods comparing item difficulties unconditional on ability and methods comparing probabilities of response conditional on ability. Results suggest that the iterative logit method is an improvement on the noniterative one and is efficient in detecting biased and unbiased items. (Author/DWH)