Speech Reinforcement Research Articles

Physical environmental regulation of verbal vehavior during play

This report describes three experiments designed to measure the changes in children's social speech produced by features in the physical environment that are designed to alter verbal communication contingencies between players. All experiments utilized A-B-A-B withdrawal designs. Both conditions consisted of free play at an ordinary open table, but, in the experimental condition, partitions between players allowed only partial visual contact. In the first experiment, the partitions produced sharp drops in the amount of speech referenced to playthings but no changes in the level of specificity. In the second experiment, no changes in verbal referents were produced, but significant increases in specificity of speech occurred when the partitions were in place. Similar results were obtained in Experiment 3. The results are considered as confirmation of the importance of physical environmental factors in the regulation of children's play, with differential results attributed primarily to differential reinforcement of specific and nonspecific speech when the partitions were in place.

Speech reinforcement in a large cathedral, at the limits of D 2

A state‐of‐the‐art point source speaker system was installed in a large (627 000 cu ft) cathedral, with 3.5 s RT60. Initial calculations using D. Davis' theory for articulation are compared with results of nonsense word articulation tests made in the building using the installed system. Also, results of octave band RT 60 measurements are plotted, showing results of pioneering acoustical corrections performed in 1916 using covered felt blankets applied to ceiling.

Gothic sound for the neo‐gothic chapel of Duke University

The Duke University Chapel, a 250‐ft‐long, one million cu ft neo‐gothic structure, was built in 1930–32. It was finished on half of its interior surface with Akoustolith, a precast artificial sound absorbing stone. The remaining surfaces were Indiana limestone. This resulted in a mid‐frequency reverberation time of about 3 s in the unoccupied space. A donor offered to give a new organ for the chapel provided the space could be made to sound the way it looks. After considerable experimentation, four coats of sealer were applied to the Akoustolith. The reverberation time was increased to over 7 s, creating an ideal environment for the new organ. The old speech reinforcement system was then hopeless as had been predicted. A new system was designed and installed. It uses column loudspeakers at each structural pier in the nave with additional column speakers serving crossing and transepts, all with appropriate time delays. Now the chapel has superb conditions for liturgical music and excellent speech intelligibility.

Reinforcing the Speaker: Effects of the Speech, Speaker, and Listener

Subjects showed substantial stability in the frequency that they reinforced the speech of others. The affective content of the speech, the ethnicity of the listener, the sex of the listener, and the sex of the listener x sex of the speaker interaction do not significantly influence rate of reinforcement. Psychometric measures of anxiety, hostility, depression, and neuroticism rarely are associated with frequency of reinforcement. However, extroversion was positively associated with frequency of reinforcement. It was concluded that the differential reinforcement of speech was an attribute of the listener rather than of what was heard, but that only a small part of the variance could be accounted for by attributes of the listener that have been examined in this and other studies.

The problem of generalization in the operant conditioning of social speech in the severely subnormal. Use of reversal to establish generalizability.

Many severely subnormal patients talk little to each other. In this experiment, three pairs of subjects were reinforced for talking to each other, and learned to do so quite quickly. Whether social speech would continue to occur without the benefit of external reinforcement was examined by observing the subjects through a one-way mirror in a bare interview room adjacent to the teaching room immediately after each training session. On some occasions untrained subjects were observed in the bare room with the trained subjects. The reinforcement of social speech was demonstrated to be effective by the use of a reversal design (baseline, reinforcement, no reinforcement, reinforcement), where the rate of speech increased considerably when reinforcement was available but decreased when it was discontinued. Generalization of the increased social speech, however, was very poor and only significantly above baseline levels with the pair who seemed responsive to social as well as material reinforcement. The implications of this for training programmes are discussed.

Design of a medium-sized music auditorium

This paper discusses the acoustic design principles for medium-sized general purpose halls, and shows that the optimum procedure is to design such halls for musical purposes with the provision of speech reinforcement systems for lectures. The principles are illustrated by the redesign of Firth Hall, in the University of Sheffield.

Treatment of stammering by reinforcement of fluent speech

A series of small experimental studies was conducted with three stammerers. The studies show that stammering may be controlled by positive reinforcement of fluent speech in a machine reading task. This new procedure for the treatment of stammering is convenient and effective in producing fluent speech in the laboratory. Evidence suggests some generalization of a stable kind to outside settings. Stammering interrupts speech and disturbs communication. It has been treated by a variety of methods, ranging from physical assault on the speech organs, through procedures designed to establish new speech patterns, training in deliberate speech control, and masking of auditory feedback, to psychotherapy and behaviour therapy. Negative practice has brought about improvement in up to a third of cases (Dunlap, 1932; Fishman. 333 1937; Sheehan, 1953; Lehner, 1954; Jones, 1955; Case, 1960). The other common form of behaviour therapy has usually involved negative reinforcement or punishment. Flanagan, Goldiamond and Azrin (1958) used a loud blast of noise every time subjects stammered. Stammering rate was markedly depressed during the aversive conditioning, but when the aversive conditions were discontinued, stammering rate showed a pronounced increase. More recently, Goldiamond (1965) used fluency to terminate a noxious stimulus and reported a reduction in stammering.

Sound Reinforcement for a Touring Musical Show

A sound-reinforcement system for a touring musical show was designed using an adjustable central theater-type loudspeaker cluster, supplementary time-delayed distributed loudspeakers, a frequency shifter, a custom-designed control console with vertical attenuators, a graphic equalizer, and directional condenser microphones. The objective was to provide speech reinforcement and reproduction of sound effects equal to those provided by state-of-the-art permanent systems. This paper discusses the system design, plus installation and operational problems and results in seven large auditoriums having varied configurations and acoustical environments.

Room acoustics and sound system design

At the present time, there are in operation a large number of sound amplification systems installed mainly for the purpose of speech reinforcement. Many of the existing systems appear to have been installed without regard for the acoustical requirements for high speech intelligibility, and the phrase public-address system has become almost an anathema to sensitive listeners. Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. has become involved in the design of sound amplification systems in conjunction with other aspects of architectural acoustics. A number of principles have been developed as guides for the design of speech reinforcement amplification systems that provide a high degree of intelligibility and naturalness. These principles will be discussed and illustrated by the designs of several typical speech reinforcement systems, including those installed in a large exhibition hall, a reverberant church, a stockholders' meeting room, and an auditorium designed for maximum natural reinforcement by proper acoustical design.

Religious Speech Community and Reinforcement of Belief

Religious Speech Community and Reinforcement of Belief

その他

In order to save lamp room space and labour, self-service system of electric lamps has been adopted at several coal mines, such as Yubari, Mitsubishi-Bibai etc. There are comparatively a few permanent lightings in use in. Japanese coal mines, but in future permanent lightings must be installed to ensure the comfort and safety of workers. At Meiji-Saga coal mine, the bottom of a incline, main roads and underground rooms have been lighted by the installations of 85 fluorescent lamps.Mechanization at underground areas results in greatly increased noise and it is consequently necessary to introduce some form of speech reinforcement. At Meiji-Saga coal mine, the conventional underground telephone and signaling systems have been installed at working faces, and brought about good results. At Ube coal mine, the ordinary telephones are installed so as to be used in case of emergency.The underground power consumption increases with the progress of mechanization. And to economize in power is a serious problem of coal mines. A strict economy in compressed.air is practised at Ôyubari coal mine.

Speech Re-Inforcement in St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Speech Re-Inforcement in St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Reinforcement of speech on behalf of the deaf by audions and thermotelephones

(1925). Reinforcement of speech on behalf of the deaf by audions and thermotelephones. Acta Oto-Laryngologica: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 463-468.