List Of Test Words Research Articles

Why seemingly more difficult test conditions produce more accurate recognition of semantic prototype words: A recognition memory paradox?

Subjects studied Deese-Roediger-McDermott semantic-associate lists and took a recognition test. The makeup and number of test probes were manipulated. In Experiments 1 and 2A, one of three or all three distractors were semantically related to the list theme. In Experiment 2B, 6 or 30 related probes were used at test. Results showed that semantically related distractors and a longer list of test words both had a beneficial effect on the accurate discrimination of the prototype lures from the studied semantic associates and on the discrimination of studied from unstudied prototype words. These findings are inconsistent with predictions of memory interference and activation theories. We propose that the counterintuitive findings can be explained by the notion of old/new recognition as categorization learning and that relatedness and a larger number of test probes provide more accurate information about the prototype lure as a distractor, thereby improving its classification as a distractor.

Speech intelligibility prediction method using machine learning for outdoor public address systems

Subjective speech intelligibility assessment is important for the development of outdoor public address system. However, as this assessment is difficult in many cases, we propose an objective speech intelligibility evaluation system that includes a machine learning technique. In this talk, we have proved a subjective evaluation and objective prediction of speech intelligibility using the outdoor public address systems at 10 locations in Sendai City, where impulse responses were recorded after the Great East Japan Earthquake. First, the results of the subjective intelligibility evaluation by different test word lists with the same sound field conditions showed that the root mean squared error (RMSE) was very small, not exceeding 7.0%. Next, we generated the intelligibility prediction model trained with true/false results of 22 subjects using the support vector machine (SVM). This prediction model extracted the feature vector, using the ITU-T P.563 speech quality feature set of the test speech signal. We ev...

Methods for text segmentation from scene images

Methods for text segmentation from scene images

The Auditory Verbal Learning Test (Rey AVLT): An Arabic Version

The goals of this study were to adapt the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) into Arabic, to compare recall functioning among age groups (6:0 to 17:11), and to compare gender differences on various memory dimensions (immediate and delayed recall, learning rate, recognition, proactive interferences, and retroactive interferences). This version was based on the English and the Hebrew versions (Baron, 2004; Vakil, Blachstein, & Sheinman, 1998) maintaining the principles that characterize the original test's word list. Six hundred and forty subjects (331 males and 309 females), ages 6 to 17, whose mother tongue is Arabic, were selected from various places in Israel. Both t-test and ANOVA were employed to examine gender and age differences. Findings were similar to those of other languages: there was an increase in most of the scores as the age of the youngsters increased, and the girls' performance was generally higher than that of the boys. We concluded that the AVLT-Arabic version can be used for diagnosing memory skills of Arabic-speaking children.

Error-Pattern-Correcting Cyclic Codes Tailored to a Prescribed Set of Error Cluster Patterns

A new class of cyclic codes is discussed which is highly tailored to a prescribed set of dominant error cluster patterns. The cyclic code construction is based on a generator polynomial that produces a distinct syndrome set for each error pattern in the target set. By tailoring the generator polynomial specifically to the set of dominant error patterns, the code becomes highly effective in handling single and multiple occurrences of dominant error patterns at a very high code rate. A list decoding strategy based on a set of test word-error events is developed for the proposed codes, which efficiently utilizes both the algebraic information from the captured syndrome and the reliability measures provided by the local correlators matched to the dominant error patterns. By forcing a decoder to correct a single-pattern event for each test input word, multiple decoders running in parallel on the list of test words can effectively correct multiple error-pattern occurrences within the channel detector output word.

Development of a Mandarin Monosyllable Recognition Test

This study aimed to develop a set of 50- and 25-item word lists that exhibited familiarity, homogeneity, and phonemic balance for a Mandarin monosyllable recognition test (MMRT). To achieve the design goal of high subject familiarity with the test material, we selected the 700 most frequently occurring monosyllables to be the test material. The homogeneity of the test material was achieved by evaluating five psychometric characteristics of these 700 monosyllables to obtain 348 homogeneous monosyllables with similar psychometric functions for constructing the word lists. The phonemic balance of the 50-item word lists was achieved by deriving the desired numbers of initials, finals, and tones in these lists according to their occurrence frequencies in 4733 monosyllabic words. The phonemic balance of the 25-item word lists was achieved by equally dividing the desired numbers of initials, finals, and tones in the 50-item word lists into two groups, called half-A and half-B lists. Three half-A lists and three half-B lists were constructed from the 348 homogeneous monosyllables, and they could be paired to form nine 50-item word lists. Accordingly, all of the MMRT word lists are familiar, homogeneous, and phonemically balanced. The homogeneity of the MMRT word lists was examined by evaluating the interlist equivalence, interitem variability, and intersubject variability. A chi test was used to evaluate the interlist equivalence among the MMRT word lists; that is, to determine whether the values of percent correct recognition were distributed identically at 12 different presentation levels among the six 25-item word lists and nine 50-item word lists. No statistically significant differences were found among the word lists: chi(55) = 12.004 and p = 1.000 for the six 25-item word lists, chi(88) = 7.695 and p = 1.000 for the nine 50-item word lists, and chi(154) = 19.699 and p = 1.000 for the six 25-item word lists plus nine 50-item word lists. The chi tests indicated that the six 25-item word lists and nine 50-item word lists exhibited interlist equivalence. The mean interitem variability (2.0 dB) and mean intersubject variability (2.3 dB) are lower for the MMRT word lists than for previously reported word recognition tests. This study applied an innovative approach to design MMRT word lists from familiar and homogeneous monosyllables, in which the familiarity, homogeneity, and phonemic balance of the six 25-item and nine 50-item word lists were strictly controlled. These word lists exhibit interlist equivalence with respect to their psychometric functions and five psychometric characteristics; moreover, their interitem and intersubject variability are lower than those of previously reported lists. Future clinical experiments should examine whether such a design approach can improve the reliability and diagnostic sensitivity of word recognition tests for hearing-impaired listeners.

Memory training alters hippocampal neurochemistry in healthy elderly

Accumulating epidemiological evidence supports the notion of brain reserve, but there has been no investigation of neurobiological change associated with brief mental activation training in humans. Healthy older individuals were therefore investigated with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in different brain regions before and after 5 weeks of focused memory training. Recall of a test-word list of > 23 items was achieved accompanied by elevation of creatine and choline signals in the hippocampus. Those at risk for neural dysfunction, as indicated by lower neurometabolites at baseline, demonstrated the largest MRS increases after training. Biochemical changes related to cellular energy and cell-membrane turnover were found to increase after structured memory exercises and were limited to the medial temporal lobe. NeuroReport 14:1333–1337 © 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Delusions demand attention

We used a variant of the Stroop paradigm to investigate attention bias in a young woman (JK) with delusional beliefs that she had died and that members of her family had changed. JK was shown sets of words printed in different colours of ink, and was asked to name the colour of each word. Sets of words were chosen which related to her delusions, and to possible contributory moods. The times taken by JK to colour-name words in these lists were compared with her times to colour-name sets of neutral words. There were three separate testing sessions which took place over a two-year period. In comparison to her times to name the colours of words in the neutral lists, JK was significantly slower to colour-name test lists containing words related to her delusional beliefs. When she was no longer experiencing these delusions, however, she was no slower to colour-name any of the test word lists. The results indicate that the Stroop paradigm can be useful in investigating individual cases of delusions and in monito...

Delusions Demand Attention

We used a variant of the Stroop paradigm to investigate attention bias in a young woman (JK) with delusional beliefs that she had died and that members of her family had changed. JK was shown sets of words printed in different colours of ink, and was asked to name the colour of each word. Sets of words were chosen which related to her delusions, and to possible contributory moods. The times taken by JK to colour-name words in these lists were compared with her times to colour-name sets of neutral words. There were three separate testing sessions which took place over a two-year period. In comparison to her times to name the colours of words in the neutral lists, JK was significantly slower to colour-name test lists containing words related to her delusional beliefs. When she was no longer experiencing these delusions, however, she was no slower to colour-name any of the test word lists. The results indicate that the Stroop paradigm can be useful in investigating individual cases of delusions and in monitoring changes in attentional bias over time.

Prevalence of Articulation Errors in New South Wales Primary School Pupils

Using the Edinburgh Test of Articulation, an investigation of the prevalence of speech defects in New South Wales primary school populations was undertaken. The sample comprised 2,251 students from Kindergarten to Year 6, representing five metropolitan and two country regions. Articulatory responses were analysed in terms of omissions, substitutions, distortions and/or additions. Approximately 4.6 percent of children obtained error scores more than two standard deviations above the mean. Further analysis revealed that males obtained significantly higher error scores than females, and children who came from homes where English was regularly used made significantly fewer errors, but there was no significant relationship between social class and error scores. In terms of psychometric purposes the Edinburgh Test of Articulation showed adequate levels of reliability (internal consistency and retest). An analysis of the most discriminative items yielded a reduced list of test words which may be useful for futur...

Application of Word Intelligibility Test by Picture Identification to Hearing-Impaired Children

This work is a part of the research on standardization of speech audiometry for hearingimpaired children.In the first phase, the experiment was made on children in nursery classes (aged 3-6 years) at a school for the deaf in order to evaluate a test word list and the procedure for word intelligibility test by picture identification. From the results of the experiment the following suggestions were made:1) The test word list should be consisted of concrete nouns which can be pictorially presented.2) A test sheet with 6 pictures is used for every test word. Therefore 25 test sheets are needed to 25 test words.3) Before the test, it is necessary to ascertain whether each test word is within the recognition vocabulary of each subject.In the second phase, according to the first experiment a test word list was made, and the intelligibility test was carried out on 90 children, aged 3-15 years at a school for the deaf. The results were as followed:1) Mean hearing loss more than 95dB (ASA-1951) was associated with lower score of this test.2) This test was easier than the monosyllabic intelligibility test (67-list of Japan Audiological Society) which has been widely used in Japan, and the test scores distributed over the wider range than those of 67-list. Therefore this test can be utilized for evaluating the speech recognition ability of severely impaired hearing children.

Word length and frequency as determinants of stuttering

Word length and Frequency were independently varied to assess their effect on stuttering frequency. The list of test words contained words of one, two or three syllables which were of low, medium of high frequency of occurrence. Stuttering frequency of 31 young stutterers increased significantly with word length and decreased significantly with frequency of occurrence.

DISCRIMINATION TEST WORD DIFFICULTY.

Criteria for the construction and evaluation of clinical speech discrimination test word lists are reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on the need for such lists to be appropriate and homogeneous in both range and average level of word difficulty. Individual word difficulty data obtained from a clinical population with discrimination losses are presented for the recorded CID W-22 Auditory Test Series. These data permitted the rearrangement of the 200 W-22 words into eight 25-word lists which promise to be more homogeneous in average level of difficulty. However, the range of word difficulty, of both the original or reconstructed tests, falls short of the optimal distribution for a general-purpose speech discrimination test.

Some Effects of Word Learning in Imbeciles

Two experiments concerned with generalisation between words in imbecile children were carried out. The first of these compared the effects of learning three word lists, differently connected with a common list of test words, for amount and direction of transfer on the second task. It was found that while no difference in rates of learning occurred in the control group, negative transfer effects were evident with subjects who learned two lists of near synonyms. A group who learned two lists of near homonyms needed fewer trials on the second task. Transfer was found to be independent of I.Q. level. It was concluded that learning sets, leading to generalisation along semantic as well as physical dimensions, could be built up in imbeciles. In the second experiment word associations to the words in the common test list were related to previous learning experience. Word associations were shown to fall into two main classes of either meaningfully related or unconnected responses. Only a small number of “clang” associations were given. While such tendencies were not significantly altered by previous training in either neutral or sound connected word learning, learning of near synonyms significantly strengthened the tendency to give meaningfully connected word associations.

Herbert: A Study of Difficulty in Spelling and Reading

The writer's introduction to Herbert was the spelling paper reproduced in Figure 1. The words were dictated early in the semester from a list of test words for the second half of grade 11. Herbert's conspicuous failure resulted in a study of his difficulties over a period of several months. He is a normal appearing boy eight years and nine months old with fair hair, fair clear skin, and blue eyes. His facial expression gives an impression of weakness. He is courteous and obviously well-cared for at home. When interviewed his mother stated that he walked at seventeen months ; that he talked