Production Tasks Research Articles

The effects of deductive versus inductive pronunciation instruction in combination with captioned video on the acquisition of incongruent grapheme‐phoneme correspondences in L2 German

AbstractPrior research indicates that first language (L1) orthography can adversely affect second language (L2) phonological acquisition, yet studies on orthographic interference and pedagogical strategies to mitigate these effects remain sparse. Addressing these research gaps, this study investigates the impact of orthographic interference on L2 German pronunciation among L1 English speakers, employing a technology‐based homework intervention with EdPuzzle, an educational video platform, in three beginner courses. Students in two experimental groups engaged with captioned video clips and were guided through questions using either an inductive or deductive approach, while a control group focused solely on meaning. Analysis of a pre‐intervention production task revealed German grapheme‐phoneme correspondences < v > ‐ /f/, < s > ‐ /z/, and < z > ‐ /ts/ were most frequently mispronounced. Comprehensibility ratings by native German speakers suggest that both experimental groups significantly improved in their word‐level productions, with the inductive group also significantly improving in their sentence‐level productions. This study also sheds light on student perceptions of these instructional activities, enhancing our understanding of engaging L2 German pronunciation pedagogy. This research underscores the potential of integrating technology and accessible content in homework assignments to enrich and supplement L2 German pronunciation instruction in the classroom.

DIGITAL TOOL FOR CALCULATING PROJECTED INITIAL RECOVERABLE OIL RESERVES AND OIL RECOVERY FACTOR

In today's realities, digitalization of production activities of companies and enterprises, including those involved in hydrocarbon production, is becoming increasingly important, allowing to create a single digital space for all employees, ensure transparency of the results obtained and provide prompt access to relevant information stored in a single database. The formation of a unified digital space implies the creation of an environment for employees, within which it is possible to use unified tools in solving production tasks. Data transparency eliminates the variability of results, demonstrating each step performed to achieve the result recorded in the database system. A unified database allows you to quickly familiarize yourself with all available relevant information, saving your employees time and effort. All these points are ultimately aimed at improving the efficiency of production processes, as well as optimizing the activities of employees working in different geographical locations, excluding from the work activities such routine processes as: manual recalculation of multiple indicators, search and review of information stored in different sources. Digitalization of production processes implies the use of digital technologies and tools formed on a certain technological basis. Based on the above, the authors have identified the criteria for the effectiveness of digital tools to perform production tasks: reducing the share of routine processes, providing digital transparency and storing results in a single database. The authors of the paper consider an example of digitalization of the oil recovery factor calculation process thanks to the implemented «Target Oil Recovery Factor» tool as part of the implementation of the RN-KIN Express corporate software.The purpose of the work under consideration is to confirm the performance of the implemented digital tool «Targeted EOR Express» (correct calculation of oil recovery factor and initial recoverable oil reserves) by means of retrospective analysis at fields in Western Siberia and Bashkortostan, and compliance with the stated criteria of an effective digital tool.Thanks to the retrospective analysis, the results confirming the accuracy of calculations of forecast values of residual recoverable oil reserves and oil recovery factor were obtained.Based on the results of the work, the implementation of «Targeted EORExpress» tool complies with the general trend of digitalization of production processes and includes all the criteria of an effective digital tool for production tasks.

Employee Safety in the Conditions of Industry 4.0

Abstract The safety of employees during the implementation of work processes is one of the important conditions for the efficient implementation of production tasks. The situation does not change with the use of automation and robotization. On the contrary, it may be a source of hazards in new areas, requiring specific actions to limit the possibility of accidents occurring or to limit their consequences. These actions should be taken in a manner appropriate to the nature of the non-conformities. The study, based on the analysis of literature and a case study conducted in a production organization, showed the most important factors that may disturb the efficient implementation of production tasks. The study presents the key conditions for the development and operation of Industry 4.0, in accordance with the recommendations of the European Union and guidelines indicated in the scientific literature. The obtained results are addressed to the information of people responsible for the development of I4.0, taking into account “the safety aspects”, in industrial enterprises where the implementation of tasks requires cooperation between humans and machines. Statistical analysis was not included in the study. The author attempts to identify relationships that justify further research conducted to establish the existing correlations regarding supporting organizational development professionals, and in particular helping them identify potential problems in order to provide their organization with an advantage in the global competitive environment.

Truck Transportation Scheduling for a New Transport Mode of Battery-Swapping Trucks in Open-Pit Mines

To address the scheduling challenges associated with the increasing deployment of battery-swapping trucks in open-pit mines, this study proposes a multi-objective scheduling optimization model. This model accounts for the unique characteristics of battery-swapping trucks by incorporating constraints related to battery swapping alerts, the selection of battery-swapping stations, and the impact of ambient temperature on battery capacity. The primary objective is to minimize the total haulage cost and total waiting time. Both a genetic algorithm and an adaptive genetic algorithm are applied to solve the proposed multi-objective scheduling optimization model. The aim is to identify an optimal scheduling solution without violating any model constraints. Results demonstrate that both the basic genetic algorithm and the adaptive genetic algorithm effectively achieve truck transportation scheduling. However, the adaptive genetic algorithm surpasses the basic genetic algorithm, reducing the total transportation costs by 5.6% and total waiting time by 17.4%. It also reduces the number of battery swaps and transportation distance by 15.8% and 1.2%, respectively. The proposed multi-objective scheduling optimization model successfully minimizes the waiting time and transportation costs of battery-swapping trucks while ensuring the completion of production tasks. This approach provides valuable technical support for improving the production and transportation efficiency of open-pit mining operations.

The effectiveness of Processing Instruction and Production-Based Instruction on the acquisition of the past tense in Greek by child heritage learners: A preliminary study

The study compares the effectiveness of two communicative approaches to grammar teaching, Processing Instruction (PI) and Production-Based instruction with collaborative tasks (PB), on the acquisition of past tense verb morphology by child heritage learners of Greek. Fourteen child learners of Greek, students at a heritage language school in Hungary, participated in the study. Half of them received PI instruction, which focuses only on the input, providing structured-input activities, and the other half received PB instruction, which focuses on the production of output with meaningful collaborative tasks. Both teaching interventions included a short explicit grammar teaching module. A pre-/post-test design was employed, which consisted of two tasks: a written production task and a sentence repetition task. Results revealed significant gains for both PI and PB instruction. However, both teaching interventions yielded better results in the written production task than in the more cognitively demanding sentence repetition task. Additionally, children who had little or no previous exposure to Greek seem to have profited more in the more cognitively demanding task, irrespective of the type of teaching intervention.

Verbal and visual short-term memory predict performance in a multiplication production task: Evidence from a Malaysian sample.

Arithmetic requires the use of multiple cognitive processes, such as short-term memory (STM). However, findings on the association between STM and simple multiplication solving are mixed, potentially due to large interindividual differences in multiplication proficiency within and between samples. The present study aims to explore further the relationship between visual and verbal STM and simple multiplication solving with a large Malaysian sample (N = 230). Adults (age = 17-42) completed an online production-based multiplication-solving task, STM measures (verbal and visuospatial STM tasks), and a demographic survey. A mixed-model analysis found that verbal STM and visual STM predict multiplication performance, with lower span participants having longer reaction times during multiplication solving. Interestingly, we also observed the relationship between verbal STM and multiplication was moderated by interference, the impact of verbal STM was stronger in high-interference problems, while the visual STM-multiplication relation was moderated by problem size, high visual span participants took more advantage of their visual STM when presented with large size problems. Thus, our findings show that both verbal and visual STM in interaction with problem properties predict simple multiplication solving in adults. Hypotheses on the concrete mechanisms involved in these relationships are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Research Trends in the Evaluation and Treatment of Speech Disorders Using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine recent research trends regarding automatic speech recognition (ASR), which is used in the evaluation and intervention of speech disorders.Methods: Through a search engine, articles published in domestic journals were searched. A total of 27 papers were selected from the searched documents and analyzed according to the year, research subject, speech task, and ASR system.Results: The years with the most research was done in 2019~2021. The subjects who most frequently underwent speech evaluation and treatment using ASR system were those with dysarthria. The speech production tasks used to utilize ASR were at the word and sentence level, and commercialized and non-commercialized ASR systems were used similarly.Conclusion: These results might be used for the fundamental data to establish the most suitable evaluation methods and intervention plans for patients with speech disorders in clinical and research fields.

AI-POWERED MARKETING AUTOMATION FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT

In the modern world, artificial intelligence is becoming a necessary technology for effective business management. It opens up many opportunities for businesses to enhance efficiency, increase competitiveness and accomplish strategic goals. The purpose of this article is to describe our experience of using AI-based tools in the organization of the work of the non-governmental organization “Dyvo”, whose activities are aimed at supporting youth and volunteer activities during martial law in Ukraine. The main tasks that were solved with the help of artificial intelligence are related to branding of the organization and interaction with the target audience. The paper describes the experience using tools such as ChatGPT, Fiverr AI Logo Maker, Telepothq, and HeyGen to create content that shapes the style of the organization and makes it recognizable and competitive in the information space. Thus, in the course of our work, the logo of the organization, the design and code of the non-governmental organization website, advertising information about the organization, and the slogan were created. Having analyzed the results obtained during the work, we can conclude that the use of tools based on artificial intelligence allows us to effectively perform organizational and production tasks without involving additional specialists, funding, and time.

Constrained Emotional Sentence Production in Parkinson's Disease.

Deficits in the processing and production of emotional cues are well documented in the Parkinson's disease (PD) literature; however, few have ventured to explore how impairments may impact emotional language use in this population, particularly beyond the word level. Emotional language is an important multidimensional manner of communicating one's wants and needs; thus, the current study sought to explore how various aspects of language production may be impacted by the emotionality of a stimulus. Eighteen persons with PD and 22 healthy adults completed a constrained emotional sentence production task in which the affective target word was either a noun or a verb. Output was analyzed for fluency, grammaticality, completeness, and response initiation times. Cognitive (i.e., working memory [WM], inhibition, and switching) and mood (i.e., depression and apathy) measures were examined as factors influencing performance. Individuals with PD produced fewer fluent responses than healthy controls. Furthermore, they had fewer grammatical responses in their production of negative sentences and exhibited reduced information completeness when producing sentences containing positive stimuli. Group differences could not be wholly attributed to individual differences in WM or apathy. Our results support those of others that document language production deficits in individuals with PD above and beyond those impairments that can be explained by the select cognitive abilities explored here. Moreover, the emotionality of the topic may impact various aspects of communicative competence in persons with PD. For instance, disease processes associated with degeneration of neural substrates important for processing negative stimuli may also impact the grammaticality of productions containing negatively valenced content. Thus, it is important to consider how individuals in this population communicate during emotional circumstances. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27289413.

Supplemental Material for Verbal and Visual Short-Term Memory Predict Performance in a Multiplication Production Task: Evidence From a Malaysian Sample

Supplemental Material for Verbal and Visual Short-Term Memory Predict Performance in a Multiplication Production Task: Evidence From a Malaysian Sample

Shortcomings and challenges in the intersection of L2 pedagogy and applied cognitive linguistics

Abstract This paper aims to explore the shortcomings and challenges of Applied Cognitive Linguistics (ACL) in L2 classrooms and research. It examines the main issues and presents a case study with three quasi-experimental classroom studies. These experiments taught the Spanish past simple tenses using approaches informed by Cognitive Linguistics and Communicative Language Teaching, plus a control group, through a pretest/posttest design. Results favored cognitive-pedagogical instruction, but only in one production task (Alonso-Aparicio & Llopis-García, 2019). Subsequent studies replicated and extended the first, with further changes in instruction and assessment design, but found no significant differences between experimental groups in the posttest. The discussion highlights the steps taken to ensure study success, pointing out shortcomings in traditional assessment tests that favor notional-functional instruction. We suggest alternative testing tasks that consider cognitive-based approaches and new avenues for future research, aligning with Martín-Gascón et al. (2023).

Economic and biological assessment of a new medium-ripened variety of soft winter wheat Priazovye

Relevance. In the Russian Federation, winter common wheat is the main food and strategic crop. Permanent improvement of productivity and quality of wheat grain, reducing its production costs is the main task of agricultural production. To solve this problem, the leading place is given to the continuous and constant creation and introduction into production of new competitive wheat varieties, highly adapted to stress factors, with guaranteed high yields and high grain quality.Methods. The research was carried out in the southern zone of the Rostov region at the experimental sites of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution ANTS “Donskoy” in 2021–2023 in order to create a new variety of soft winter wheat capable of forming not only high yields, but also having high frost resistance, drought resistance, resistance to leaf diseases, possessing high rheological and technological properties of grain and flour.Results. The winter common wheat variety Priazovie was developed by stepwise hybridization using the varieties Voyazh and Tanya. This is a highly productive variety. On average, over three years (2021–2023) of study in the competitive variety testing, the productivity of the variety laid in green manure fallow was 9.88 t/ha, exceeding that of the standard variety by 1.56 t/ha. The variety is capable of producing high yields after various forecrops. The maximum productivity of the variety (12.23 t/ha) was obtained in green manure fallow in 2022. The variety forms a high stem capacity (up to 800 pcs/m²), and is characterized by high resistance to the main leaf diseases, such as powdery mildew, brown and yellow mildew, loose smut, leaf blotch, etc. According to the main indicators of grain and flour quality, it belongs to valuable wheat, in terms of frost resistance (73.3%) it surpasses the standard Ermak variety (69.2%).

Insect frass as a promising remedy of increasing the fertility of agricultural land in Siberia

One of the main tasks of modern organic crop production is the search for effective environmentally friendly fertilizers. A promising approach to this problem could be the study insect frass, a product of organic processing by insects. Insect frass is obtained as secondary products from the cultivation of such economic insects as, for example, housefly (Musca domestica) and black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). Insect frass has a high concentration of nitrogen, which was processed within the digestive tract of insects, which makes it more accessible to plants and contributes to their active distribution and development. It also has insecticidal and fungicidal properties due to its own microbiome. Insect frass can also enhance the moisture-holding capacity of the environment and be used as sorbents for petroleum products. The actual study examines the use of insect frass as a stand-alone growing medium or as one component of a finished substrate. A study was carried out and the nitrogen content in ammonium and nitrate forms, total acidity and the phytotoxicity index of insect frass in mixtures with lowland peat were measured. The study showed that insect frass has acceptable acidity for use as a substrate, as well as a high nitrogen content in two forms. At high concentrations, insect frass is a source of phytotoxic properties, therefore, when using it, it is necessary to maintain the ratio with other components of the substrate. Thus, insect frass, with normal application, can become an effective fertilizer for all household producers engaged in organic farming, where the tools for increasing productivity are seriously limited, and all useful elements taken from the soil must be replenished without the use of chemical fertilizers.

A hybrid niching memetic algorithm for multi-modal optimization of double row layout problem

Double row layout problem (DRLP) involves identifying the exact locations of machines participating in a production task on two rows. There are typically multiple layouts with approximately optimal material handling cost for a DRLP. These layouts often exhibit significantly different layout configurations. Identifying multiple global or local optimal layouts can provide layout designers with a wide range of options, which is of great significance for enhancing the maintainability, scalability, and customisability of the facility. However, most existing studies on DRLPs typically focus on designing a single optimal layout. In this paper, we study a multi-modal optimization of double row layout problem (MDRLP). A hybrid approach combing a fast niching memetic algorithm and linear programming (FNMA-LP) is proposed for MDRLP to locate multiple global or local optimal layouts with a similar quality. First, a fast niching memetic algorithm is developed to find a set of approximate optimal machine sequences. Then, LP is employed to optimise the exact locations of machines for each machine sequence. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, FNMA-LP is compared against three popular multi-modal algorithms and a state-of-the-art single-modal algorithm developed for DRLP. Experiments show that our approach outperforms competing approaches on almost all problem instances.

The effectiveness of ChatGPT as a lexical tool for English, compared with a bilingual dictionary and a monolingual learner’s dictionary

Traditionally, language learners have relied on dictionaries when trying to read or write in a foreign language. However, new LLM-based chatbots may offer an alternative to traditional dictionaries as lexical tools. This study assesses the effectiveness of ChatGPT versus the monolingual Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE, 2024) and the bilingual Diki.pl (Diki.pl, 2024) online dictionaries in supporting English language learners in receptive and productive lexical tasks. With a sample of 166 university students at B2 to C1 proficiency levels and forty uncommon English phrasal verbs, we investigate whether a leading AI-driven chatbot, a high-quality learners’ dictionary, or a popular free bilingual dictionary offers better support in accurately understanding and producing English. The results reveal ChatGPT to be more effective than either dictionary in production, and better than the monolingual dictionary, but not the bilingual dictionary, in reception.

The Impact of Lexical-semantic Impairment on Spoken Verb Production in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Although episodic memory is the primary concern in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), other cognitive functions may also be affected, including language. Language impairment in individuals with MCI has been attributed primarily to the breakdown of semantic representations, difficulties in accessing semantic information, and the weakening of executive functions. However, in most prior studies of word processing in individuals with MCI, researchers have used measures focused on noun production. To investigate how verb production tasks might aid in detecting cognitive impairment in individuals with MCI. We compared the performance of 45 individuals with MCI and 45 healthy controls on action naming and action fluency tasks. In the action naming task, the performance of participants with MCI was significantly impaired compared to healthy controls in terms of total score, the number of semantic errors produced, and the use of generic terms. In the action fluency task, participants with MCI produced significantly fewer verbs, fewer clusters, and fewer switches than healthy controls. The results of our study emphasize the utility of verb production tasks in the identification of cognitive impairment in individuals with MCI and provide evidence of the importance of including action naming and action fluency tasks in the assessment of individuals with MCI.

CONCEPTUALIZING DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY FOR STUDENTS IN EDUCATION

The primary aim of education is to bring all-round and harmonious development of individuals in different aspects of their life and enable them to attain their full potentialities for performing any productive tasks. Hence, every individual has the right to receive equal opportunities for quality education irrespective of their physical, socio-cultural, and economic backgrounds. However, in the recent decades, the roles accomplished by modern technologies in the domain of education with respect to delivery of instruction, learning activities, teaching strategies, process of evaluation etc. are very much crucial and noteworthy. Thus, it is important to understand the necessity of equal access towards advanced technologies of all students at different stages of education. Therefore, the present paper aims to explore the very notion and issues of digital accessibility, recognizes its major provisions and practices that are designed for all learners so that they may perceive and utilize those digital media effectively. Finally, the researchers of the paper try to address various benefits and challenges besides examining the educational implications of digital accessibility for ensuring adequate students’ engagement in learning. KEYWORDS: Digital Accessibility, Provisions and Practices for all learners, Benefits and Challenges, Educational Implications

The Amount and Pattern of Reciprocal Compensations Predict Performance Stability in a Visually Guided Finger Force Production Task.

Previous work suggests that synergistic activity among motor elements implicated in force production tasks underlies enhanced performance stability associated with visual feedback. A hallmark of synergistic activity is reciprocal compensation, that is, covariation in the states of motor elements that stabilizes critical performance variables. The present study examined if characteristics of reciprocal compensation are indicators of individuals' capacity to respond adaptively to variations in the resolution of visual feedback about criterion performance. Twenty healthy adults (19.25 ± 1.25years; 15 females and five males) pressed two sensors with their index fingers to produce a total target force equivalent to 20% of their maximal voluntary contraction under nine conditions that differed in the spatial resolution of real-time feedback about their performance. By combining within-trial uncontrolled manifold and sample entropy analyses, we quantified the amount and degree of irregularity (i.e.,non-repetitiveness) of reciprocal compensations over time. We found a U-shaped relationship between performance stability and gain. Importantly, this relationship was moderated by the degree of irregularity of reciprocal compensation. Lower irregularity in reciprocal compensation patterns was related to individuals' capacity to maintain (or minimize losses in) performance under changes in feedback resolution. Results invite future investigation into how interindividual variations in reciprocal compensation patterns relate to differences in control strategies supporting adaptive responses in complex, visually guided motor tasks.

Lexical retrieval difficulties in post-COVID-19 syndrome: Insights from verbal fluency and naming tasks.

Although considerable research has been conducted on post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS), cognitive symptoms, particularly those related to language, are still not well understood. To provide a detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of language performance in PCS patients using a comprehensive set of semantic and verbal production tasks. The study involved 195 PCS patients aged 26-64 years and 50 healthy controls aged 25-61 years. Participants were assessed using two semantic tasks, three naming tasks and four types of verbal fluency tasks, designed to evaluate different aspects of language processing. PCS patients demonstrated significantly poorer performance compared with controls across all verbal fluency tasks. This was evident in both the total number of words generated and their types, with patients tending to choose more easily accessible words. In naming tasks, the pattern of errors was similar in both groups, although patients showed a higher number of non-responses and made more errors, reflecting difficulties in word retrieval. The analysis highlighted the impact of factors such as stimulus availability, educational level and cognitive reserve on performance. Notably, younger patients performed worse than older, a paradoxical trend also observed in previous research. These findings reveal significant word retrieval difficulties in PCS patients, suggesting that cognitive impairment related to language may be more pronounced than previously understood. The results underscore the need for a thorough evaluation of language functions in PCS patients and the development of more targeted and individualized language rehabilitation strategies to address these specific challenges. What is already known on the subject Studies on the cognitive characteristics of CPS have focused mainly on broad-spectrum neuropsychological assessments covering all cognitive functions. However, there are very few studies analysing oral production with specific lexical and semantic system tasks. Furthermore, no work has specifically included tasks assessing semantic processing or conducted qualitative analyses of the psycholinguistic variables affecting performance. Such analyses could undoubtedly help clarify the nature of the language impairments in patients with PCS. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study explores in depth the evaluation and analysis of the oral production of patients with PCS using several lexical and semantic tasks. In addition, psycholinguistic variables are analysed that could undoubtedly help clarify the nature of the language impairments in patients with PCS. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The study allows the identification of specific lexical-semantic deficits in the spoken language in patients with this PCS. A more detailed assessment of the oral language of these patients, keeping in mind the psycholinguistic variables that may affect the performance, will facilitate the design of more efficient and individualized rehabilitation programmes.

The effect of two speech and language approaches on speech problems in people with Parkinson's disease: the PD COMM RCT.

Speech impairments are common with Parkinson's disease (reported prevalence 68%), increasing conversational demands, reliance on family and social withdrawal. The PD COMM trial compared the clinical and cost-effectiveness of two speech and language therapy approaches: Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD and National Health Service speech and language therapy for the treatment of speech or voice problems in people with Parkinson's disease to no speech and language therapy (control) and against each other. PD COMM is a phase III, multicentre, three-arm, unblinded, randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomised in a 1 : 1 : 1 ratio to control, National Health Service speech and language therapy or Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD via a central computer-generated programme, using a minimisation procedure with a random element, to ensure allocation concealment. Mixed-methods process and health economic evaluations were conducted. United Kingdom outpatient and home settings. People with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, with self-reported or carer-reported speech or voice problems. We excluded people with dementia, laryngeal pathology and those within 24 months of previous speech and language therapy. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD intervention included maximum effort drills and high-effort speech production tasks delivered over four 50-minute therapist-led personalised sessions per week, for 4 weeks with prescribed daily home practice. National Health Service speech and language therapy content and dosage reflected local non-Lee Silverman Voice Treatment speech and language therapy practices, usually 1 hour, once weekly, for 6 weeks. Trained, experienced speech and language therapists or assistants provided interventions. The control was no speech and language therapy until the trial was completed. Primary outcome: Voice Handicap Index total score at 3 months. Secondary outcomes: Voice Handicap Index subscales, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39; Questionnaire on Acquired Speech Disorders; EuroQol-5D-5L; ICEpop Capabilities Measure for Older Adults; Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire - Carers; resource utilisation; and adverse events. Assessments were completed pre-randomisation and at 3, 6 and 12 months post randomisation. Three hundred and eighty-eight participants were randomised to Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD (n = 130), National Health Service speech and language therapy (n = 129) and control (n = 129). The impact of voice problems at 3 months after randomisation was lower for Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD participants than control [-8.0 (99% confidence interval: -13.3, -2.6); p = 0.001]. There was no evidence of improvement for those with access to National Health Service speech and language therapy when compared to control [1.7 (99% confidence interval: -3.8, 7.1); p = 0.4]. Participants randomised to Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD reported a lower impact of their voice problems than participants randomised to National Health Service speech and language therapy [99% confidence interval: -9.6 (-14.9, -4.4); p < 0.0001]. There were no reports of serious adverse events. Staff were confident with the trial interventions; a range of patient and therapist enablers of implementing Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD were identified. The economic evaluation results suggested Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD was more expensive and more effective than control or National Health Service speech and language therapy but was not cost-effective with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of £197,772 per quality-adjusted life-year gained and £77,017 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, respectively. The number of participants recruited to the trial did not meet the pre-specified power. People that had access to Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD described a significantly greater reduction in the impact of their Parkinson's disease-related speech problems 3 months after randomisation compared to people that had no speech and language therapy. There was no evidence of a difference between National Health Service speech and language therapy and those that received no speech and language therapy. Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD resulted in a significantly lower impact of voice problems compared to National Health Service speech and language therapy 3 months after randomisation which was still present after 12 months; however, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD was not found to be cost-effective. Implementing Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD in the National Health Service and identifying alternatives to Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD for those who cannot tolerate it. Investigation of less costly alternative options for Lee Silverman Voice Treatment delivery require investigation, with economic evaluation using a preference-based outcome measure that captures improvement in communication. This study is registered as ISRCTN12421382. This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (NIHR award ref: 10/135/02) and is published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 28, No. 58. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.