Graeme Clark Collection

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    A comparison of Tactaid II+ and Tactaid 7 use by adults with a profound hearing impairment
    Galvin, Karyn L. ; Mavrias, Gina ; Moore, Alessandra ; Cowan, Robert S. C. ; Blamery, Peter J. ; Clark, Graeme M. ( 1999)
    Objective: To evaluate and compare use of the Tactaid II+ and the Tactaid 7, in terms of speech perception, by adults with a hearing impairment. Design: Eight adults used one device daily for approximately 10 wk and attended seven training sessions. Performance was measured with tests of phonetic contrast perception, closed-set vowel and consonant identification, word and phoneme recognition in monosyllabic word lists, word recognition in sentences and speechtracking rate. A questionnaire was also administered. The protocol was repeated with the alternative device. Results: With each device, the group discriminated most phonetic contrasts at better-than-chance levels and demonstrated somewhat enhanced visual or auditory-visual perception when measured in terms of vowel identification, monosyllabic word recognition and speechtracking rate. An increase in speechtracking rate was also demonstrated for some individuals. Subjects generally reported little subjective improvement in speech perception and production, but were satisfied with the physical attributes of each device. Five of six subjects preferred the Tactaid 7. Conclusions: The Tactaid II+ and the Tactaid 7 provided suprasegmental and segmental information, enabling the group to discriminate phonetic contrasts and improve their perception of some speech materials. No consistent advantage was found for either device, thought most subjects preferred the Tactaid 7. Alternatives likely to provide a greater benefit to communication should be considered before Tactaid fitting.
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    The progress of children using the multichannel cochlear implant in Melbourne
    Cowan, R. S. C. ; Dowell, R. C. ; Hollow, R. ; Dettman, S. J. ; Rance, G. ; Barker, E. J. ; Sarant, J. Z. ; Galvin, K. L. ; Webb, R. C. ; Pyman, B. C. ; Cousins, V. C. ; Clark, Graeme M. ( 1995)
    Multi-channel cochlear implantation in children began in Australia in 1985 and there are now close to 4000 profoundly deaf children and adolescents using the Australian implant system around the world. The aim of the implant procedure is to provide adequate hearing for speech and language development through auditory input. This contrasts with the situation for adults with acquired deafness where the cochlear implant aims to restore hearing for someone with well-developed auditory processing and language skills. As with adults, results vary over a wide range for children using the Multi-channel implant. Many factors have been suggested that may contribute to differences in speech perception for implanted children. In an attempt to better understand these factors, the speech perception results for children implanted in Melbourne were reviewed and subjected to statistical analysis. This has indicated that the amount of experience with the implant and the length of sensory deprivation are strongly correlated with perceptual results. This means that younger children are likely to perform better with an implant and that a number of years of experience are required for children to reach their full potential. The results have also indicated that educational placement and management play a crucial role in children reaching their potential. Overall, 60% of the children and adolescents in the study have reached a level of open-set speech understanding using the cochlear implant without lipreading.
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    Perception of multiple electrode stimulus patterns: implications for design of an electrotactile speech processor
    Cowan, Robert S. C. ; Blamey, Peter J. ; Sarant, Julia Z. ; Galvin, Karyn L. ; Clark, Graeme M. ( 1991)
    Abstract not available due to copyright.
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    Perception of sentences, words, and speech features by profoundly hearing-impaired children using a multichannel electrotactile speech processor
    Cowan, Robert S. C. ; Blamey, Peter J. ; Galvin, Karyn L. ; Sarant, Julia Z. ; Alcantara, Joseph I. ; Clark, Graeme M. ( 1990)
    Abstract not available due to copyright.