Augustana College (Illinois)

About: Augustana College (Illinois) is a education organization based out in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Higher education & Population. The organization has 491 authors who have published 763 publications receiving 14274 citations. The organization is also known as: Augustana College and Theological Seminary.

Listening Effort Measured in Adults with Normal Hearing and Cochlear Implants.

Abstract: Background Studies have examined listening effort in individuals with hearing loss to determine the extent of the impairment. Regarding cochlear implants (CIs), results suggest that listening effort is improved using bilateral CIs compared to unilateral CIs. Few studies have investigated listening effort and outcomes related to the hybrid CI. Purpose Here, we compared listening effort across three CI groups, and to a normal-hearing control group. The impact of listener traits, that is, age, age at onset of hearing loss, duration of CI use, and working memory capacity, were examined relative to listening effort. Research design The participants completed a dual-task paradigm with a primary task identifying sentences in noise and a secondary task measuring reaction time on a Stroop test. Performance was assessed for all participant groups at different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), ranging in 2-dB steps from 0 to +10 dB relative to an individual's SNR-50, at which the speech recognition performance is 50% correct. Participants completed three questions on listening effort, the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire, and a reading span test. Study sample All 46 participants were adults. The four participant groups included (1) 12 individuals with normal hearing, (2) 10 with unilateral CIs, (3) 12 with bilateral CIs, and (4) 12 with a hybrid short-electrode CI and bilateral residual hearing. Data collection and analysis Results from the dual-task experiment were compared using a mixed 4 (hearing group) by 6 (SNR condition) analysis of variance (ANOVA). Questionnaire results were compared using one-way ANOVAs, and correlations between listener traits and the objective and subjective measures were compared using Pearson correlation coefficients. Results Significant differences were found in speech perception among the normal-hearing and the unilateral and the bilateral CI groups. There was no difference in primary task performance among the hybrid CI and the normal-hearing groups. Across the six SNR conditions, listening effort improved to a greater degree for the normal-hearing group compared to the CI groups. However, there was no significant difference in listening effort between the CI groups. The subjective measures revealed significant differences between the normal-hearing and CI groups, but no difference among the three CI groups. Across all groups, age was significantly correlated with listening effort. We found no relationship between listening effort and the age at the onset of hearing loss, age at implantation, the duration of CI use, and working memory capacity for these participants. Conclusions Listening effort was reduced to a greater degree for the normal-hearing group compared to the CI users. There was no significant difference in listening effort among the CI groups. For the CI users in this study, age was a significant factor with regard to listening effort, whereas other variables such as the duration of CI use and the age at the onset of hearing loss were not significantly related to listening effort.

Why be a journalist? US students’ motivations and role conceptions in the new age of journalism

Abstract: This mixed-methods study using a national, random sample of journalism students explores their motivations for majoring in journalism and conceptions of the roles of journalists. It showed many similarities among students today and yesterday and some differences between students and professionals. Students’ ranking of the importance of roles compared to professionals showed no significant correlation. They still recognize the same four main roles of journalists, but rank them in a different order and define them differently. These future journalists see ‘soft news’ as being on equal footing, if not more important, than traditional ‘hard news’. They consider it fair game for journalists to join the conversation about important issues of the day. They see citizen journalists as not only taking over more of the adversarial duties of journalists but also increasing the amount of information and opinion that people have access to, making the interpretive role of journalists more necessary as someone needs to s...

Counseling Families of Children with Communication Disorders

Abstract: When a child is diagnosed with a communication disorder, family members often are confused and in shock. They are not prepared for the challenges associated with a long-term communication disorder, and family-focused resources are not readily accessible. The sense of loss related to the diagnosis may provoke a grief reaction, which, if not resolved, could lead to depression and other problems for the family and the child. The authors explore two types of grief: stage and episodic. They also discuss the importance of the role of the speech—language pathologist in recognizing and understanding the family's grief and facilitating positive strategies for dealing with it.

Colorblindness as Identity: Key Determinants, Relations to Ideology, and Implications for Attitudes about Race and Policy:

Abstract: Colorblindness is often conceptualized as a set of deeply held but unrecognized ideological tenets. However, we believe that colorblindness has also now become an explicit cultural discourse involv...

Late radiation-associated dysphagia with lower cranial neuropathy in long-term oropharyngeal cancer survivors: video case reports.

Abstract: Background Lower cranial neuropathies are a late effect of radiotherapy (RT), typically reported in nasopharyngeal cancer survivors. Limited data examine these neuropathies after oropharyngeal cancer, particularly as it relates to late radiation-associated dysphagia (late-RAD). Methods Two cases were examined over 4 to 6 years. Late-RAD was assessed per MBS impairment profile (MBSImP™©), Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS), Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck cancer (PSS-HN), and MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI). Neuropathies were examined via clinical examination and laryngeal videostroboscopy, and compared with trajectories of late-RAD. Results Media-enriched case reports describe the course of late-RAD and neuropathies in 2 cases after definitive RT ± epidermal growth factor receptor-inhibitor for oropharyngeal cancer. Late-RAD was characterized by severe physiologic impairments per MBSImP™© and decreased swallowing-related quality of life (QOL) per MDADI. Trajectories of late-RAD paralleled the progression or stability of neuropathies. Conclusion Late-RAD with lower cranial neuropathies resulted in profound and persistent functional impairment. Rarely reported, late radiation-associated lower cranial neuropathies may be a major contributor to new-onset or progressive dysphagia in long-term oropharyngeal cancer survivors. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: E56–E62, 2015