Effect of speaker age on speech recognition and perceived listening effort in older adults with hearing loss

Published online January 2012Purpose: Older adults exhibit difficulty understanding speech that has been experimentally degraded. Age-related changes to the speech mechanism lead to natural degradations in signal quality. We tested the hypothesis that older adults with hearing loss would exhibit declines in speech recognition when listening to the speech of older adults, compared with the speech of younger adults, and would report greater amounts of listening effort in this task. Methods: Nineteen individuals with age-related hearing loss completed speech recognition and listening effort scaling tasks. Both were conducted in quiet, when listening to high and low predictability phrases produced by younger and older speakers respectively. Results: No significant difference in speech recognition existed when stimuli were derived from younger or older speakers. However, perceived effort was significantly higher when listening to speech from older adults, as compared to younger adults. Conclusions: For older individuals with hearing loss, natural degradations in signal quality may require greater listening effort. However, they do not interfere with speech recognition – at least in quiet. Follow-up investigation of the effect of speaker age on speech recognition and listening effort under more challenging noise conditions appears warranted

Определение трещиностойкости малоразмерных образцов технического титана ВТ1-0

Целью работы является ознакомление с новой методикой определения трещиностойкости конструкционных материалов, разрабатываемой в лаборатории физической мезомеханики ИФПМ СО РАН, и проверка методики на примере технического титана ВТ1-0. Испытания проводятся методом расклинивания малоразмерных образцов с шевронным надрезом. По полученным данным строится диаграмма нагружения в координатах "сила давления на клин – смещение сторон надреза". В качестве основной характеристики трещиностойкости определяется удельная энергия разрушения.The aim of this work is to study a new technique for determining the fracture toughness of structural materials and testing the technique using the samples of technical titanium VT1-0. The technique is developed in the laboratory of physical mesomechanics of ISPMS SB RAS. Tests are carried out by the method of wedging small-sized samples with a chevron notch. According to the obtained data, a loading diagram is constructed in the coordinates "force of pressure on the wedge - displacement of the sides of the incision". The specific fracture energy is determined as the main characteristic of crack resistance

Деловая карьера и ее развитие в Государственном профессиональном образовательном учреждении "Яшкинский техникум технологий и механизации" (пгт. Яшкино)

В современной России наблюдается разбалансированность рынка педагогического труда. Система образования не испытывает количественной нехватки преподавателей, но существуют трудности с удержанием молодых преподавателей и развитием уже работающих опытных специалистов. Цель работы – выявить особенности карьеры в образовательном учреждении современной России.Объект исследования – система управления деловой карьерой в организации.In modern Russia there is an imbalance of the market of pedagogical work. The education system does not have a quantitative shortage of teachers, but there are difficulties in retaining young teachers and developing experienced professionals who are already working. The purpose of the work is to identify the features of a career in an educational institution of modern Russia.The object of research is the system of business career management in the organization

МЕТОДИЧНІ ВКАЗІВКИ ДО ПРАКТИЧНИХ ЗАНЯТЬ З НАВЧАЛЬНОЇ ДИСЦИПЛІНИ «ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПЕРЕКЛАДУ ХУДОЖНІХ ТВОРІВ»

Подано методичні вказівки до практичних занять магістрів з курсу «Особливості перекладу художніх творів», які містять перелік основних питань, які повинні бути опрацьовані та засвоєні студентом, перелік літератури для опрацювання матеріалу. Призначено для магістрів з напрямку підготовки 6.020303 «Філологія», спеціальності 8.02030304 «Переклад»

Differential Production Cross Section of Z Bosons as a Function of Transverse Momentum at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV

We present a measurement of the transverse momentum distribution of Z bosons produced in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV using data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider during 1994--1996. We find good agreement between our data and a current resummation calculation. We also use our data to extract values of the non-perturbative parameters for a particular version of the resummation formalism, obtaining significantly more precise values than previous determinations.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters v2 has margin error correcte

Search for First Generation Scalar Leptoquark Pairs in ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV

We have searched for first generation scalar leptoquark (LQ) pairs in the enu+jets channel using ppbar collider data (integrated luminosity= 115 pb^-1) collected by the DZero experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron during 1992-96. The analysis yields no candidate events. We combine the results with those from the ee+jets and nunu+jets channels to obtain 95% confidence level (CL) upper limits on the LQ pair production cross section as a function of mass and of beta, the branching fraction to a charged lepton. Comparing with the next-to-leading order theory, we set 95% CL lower limits on the LQ mass of 225, 204, and 79 GeV/c^2 for beta=1, 1/2, and 0, respectively.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters Replaced to correct visitor addresse

Search for Squarks and Gluinos in Events Containing Jets and a Large Imbalance in Transverse Energy

Using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 79 pb-1, D0 has searched for events containing multiple jets and large missing transverse energy in pbar-p collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Observing no significant excess beyond what is expected from the standard model, we set limits on the masses of squarks and gluinos and on the model parameters m_0 and m_1/2, in the framework of the minimal low-energy supergravity models of supersymmetry. For tan(beta) = 2 and A_0 = 0, with mu < 0, we exclude all models with m_squark < 250 GeV/c^2. For models with equal squark and gluino masses, we exclude m < 260 GeV/c^2.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to PRL, Fixed typo on page bottom of p. 6 (QCD multijet background is 35.4 events

Direct Measurement of the Top Quark Mass at D0

We determine the top quark mass m_t using t-tbar pairs produced in the D0 detector by \sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV p-pbar collisions in a 125 pb^-1 exposure at the Fermilab Tevatron. We make a two constraint fit to m_t in t-tbar -> b W^+bbar W^- final states with one W boson decaying to q-qbar and the other to e-nu or mu-nu. Likelihood fits to the data yield m_t(l+jets) = 173.3 +- 5.6 (stat) +- 5.5 (syst) GeV/c^2. When this result is combined with an analysis of events in which both W bosons decay into leptons, we obtain m_t = 172.1 +- 5.2 (stat) +- 4.9 (syst) GeV/c^2. An alternate analysis, using three constraint fits to fixed top quark masses, gives m_t(l+jets) = 176.0 +- 7.9 (stat) +- 4.8 (syst) GeV/C^2, consistent with the above result. Studies of kinematic distributions of the top quark candidates are also presented.Comment: 43 pages, 53 figures, 33 tables. RevTeX. Submitted to Phys. Rev.