A framework of issues in large process modeling projects

As process management projects have increased in size due to globalised and company-wide initiatives, a corresponding growth in the size of process modeling projects can be observed. Despite advances in languages, tools and methodologies, several aspects of these projects have been largely ignored by the academic community. This paper makes a first contribution to a potential research agenda in this field by defining the characteristics of large-scale process modeling projects and proposing a framework of related issues. These issues are derived from a semi-structured interview and six focus groups conducted in Australia, Germany and the USA with enterprise and modeling software vendors and customers. The focus groups confirm the existence of unresolved problems in business process modeling projects. The outcomes provide a research agenda which directs researchers into further studies in global process management, process model decomposition and the overall governance of process modeling projects. It is expected that this research agenda will provide guidance to researchers and practitioners by focusing on areas of high theoretical and practical relevance

Consonant identification using temporal fine structure and recovered envelope cues

The contribution of recovered envelopes (RENVs) to the utilization of temporal-fine structure (TFS) speech cues was examined in normal-hearing listeners. Consonant identification experiments used speech stimuli processed to present TFS or RENV cues. Experiment 1 examined the effects of exposure and presentation order using 16-band TFS speech and 40-band RENV speech recovered from 16-band TFS speech. Prior exposure to TFS speech aided in the reception of RENV speech. Performance on the two conditions was similar (∼50%-correct) for experienced listeners as was the pattern of consonant confusions. Experiment 2 examined the effect of varying the number of RENV bands recovered from 16-band TFS speech. Mean identification scores decreased as the number of RENV bands decreased from 40 to 8 and were only slightly above chance levels for 16 and 8 bands. Experiment 3 examined the effect of varying the number of bands in the TFS speech from which 40-band RENV speech was constructed. Performance fell from 85%- to 31%-correct as the number of TFS bands increased from 1 to 32. Overall, these results suggest that the interpretation of previous studies that have used TFS speech may have been confounded with the presence of RENVs.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 DC00117)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R43 DC013006

Experience-dependent neural representation of dynamic pitch in the brainstem

Brainstem frequency-following responses were recorded from Chinese and English participants in response to an iterated rippled noise homologue of Mandarin Tone 2 (T2) and linear and inverted curvilinear variants. Pitch-tracking accuracy and pitch strength analyses showed advantages for the Chinese group over the English in response to T2 only. Pitch strength was larger for the Chinese group in rapidly changing sections of T2 compared with corresponding sections of a linear ramp. We conclude that experience-dependent neural plasticity at subcortical levels of representation is highly sensitive to specific features of pitch patterns in one\u27s native language. Such experience-dependent effects suggest that subcortical sensory encoding interacts with cognitive processing in the cerebral cortex to shape the perceptual system\u27s response to pitch patterns. © 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health|Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Test-Box and Real-Ear Verification of Self-Fit Versus Audiologist-Fit Direct-to-Consumer Devices

Hearing aid verification measures on direct to consumer (D2C) devices can provide an efficient way to optimize fittings for hearing-impaired individuals. This poster will focus on key differences between self-fit and Hearing HealthCare Provider-fit settings for D2C devices. Measures will include ANSIS.3.22/ ANSI CTA 2051, Noise reduction and Directional microphone performance in test box. Real-ear measures of match to prescriptive formulas, and SII/RMS arror to target for DTC vs traditional hearing aids will be evaluated

Test-Box and Real-Ear Verification of Self-Fit Versus Audiologist-Fit Direct-to-Consumer Devices

Hearing aid verification measures on direct to consumer (D2C) devices can provide an efficient way to optimize fittings for hearing-impaired individuals. This poster will focus on key differences between self-fit and Hearing HealthCare Provider-fit settings for D2C devices. Measures will include ANSIS.3.22/ ANSI CTA 2051, Noise reduction and Directional microphone performance in test box. Real-ear measures of match to prescriptive formulas, and SII/RMS arror to target for DTC vs traditional hearing aids will be evaluated

A framework of issues in large process modeling projects

As process management projects have increased in size due to globalised and company-wide initiatives, a corresponding growth in the size of process modeling projects can be observed. Despite advances in languages, tools and methodologies, several aspects of these projects have been largely ignored by the academic community. This paper makes a first contribution to a potential research agenda in this field by defining the characteristics of large-scale process modeling projects and proposing a framework of related issues. These issues are derived from a semi -structured interview and six focus groups conducted in Australia, Germany and the USA with enterprise and modeling software vendors and customers. The focus groups confirm the existence of unresolved problems in business process modeling projects. The outcomes provide a research agenda which directs researchers into further studies in global process management, process model decomposition and the overall governance of process modeling projects. It is expected that this research agenda will provide guidance to researchers and practitioners by focusing on areas of high theoretical and practical relevance

Consonant identification in noise using Hilbert-transform temporal fine-structure speech and recovered-envelope speech for listeners with normal and impaired hearing

Consonant-identification ability was examined in normal-hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) listeners in the presence of steady-state and 10-Hz square-wave interrupted speech-shaped noise. The Hilbert transform was used to process speech stimuli (16 consonants in a-C-a syllables) to present envelope cues, temporal fine-structure (TFS) cues, or envelope cues recovered from TFS speech. The performance of the HI listeners was inferior to that of the NH listeners both in terms of lower levels of performance in the baseline condition and in the need for higher signal-to-noise ratio to yield a given level of performance. For NH listeners, scores were higher in interrupted noise than in steady-state noise for all speech types (indicating substantial masking release). For HI listeners, masking release was typically observed for TFS and recovered-envelope speech but not for unprocessed and envelope speech. For both groups of listeners, TFS and recovered-envelope speech yielded similar levels of performance and consonant confusion patterns. The masking release observed for TFS and recovered-envelope speech may be related to level effects associated with the manner in which the TFS processing interacts with the interrupted noise signal, rather than to the contributions of TFS cues per se.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) (Award R01DC000117