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B Dodd

Publications and source records attributed to B Dodd.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

The effect of first written language on the acquisition of English literacy.

The relationship between first and second language literacy was examined by identifying the skills and processes developed in the first language that were transferred to the second language. The performance of 40 university students from The People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Australia were compared on a series of tasks that assessed phonological awareness and reading and spelling skills in English. The results indicated that the Hong Kong students (with non-alphabetic first language literacy) had limited phonological awareness compared to those students with alphabetic first language literacy. The reading and spelling tasks showed no differences between the groups on real word processing. However, the students from Hong Kong had difficulty processing nonwords because of their poor phonological awareness. The results supported the hypothesis that people learning English as a second language (ESL) transfer their literacy processing skills from their first language to English. When the phonological awareness required in English had not been developed in the first language, ESL students were limited to a whole-word, visual strategy. The findings indicate that students from non-alphabetic written language backgrounds might have difficulties with new, or unfamiliar words when attending universities where English is the medium of instruction.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Consonant perception with linear and compression amplification.

The consonant perception of 15 subjects with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss was evaluated using linear amplification and two different types of compression amplification. A specially modified hearing aid was used which allowed for variation of the amplifier input/output function in three steps, such that the compression ratio could be set to 1 (linear), 1.3 or 1.8. The Nonsense Syllable Test (NST) was recorded through the aid in quiet and in two different noise conditions (four-talker babble and a background noise with sharp intermittent sounds), and replayed to the listeners through headphones. No differences in consonant perception were found between the different types of amplification in the quiet condition. In the babble condition, consonant perception was significantly better with linear amplification than with either form of compression. In the sharp noise condition, there was no difference in performance between linear amplification and compression amplification with the ratio of 1.8. Consonant perception was adversely affected, however, by the compression and amplification with the ratio of 1.3 in this condition. Overall NST results and results for particular classes of consonants are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Twin language or phonological disorder?

The acquisition of language in the preschool years by multiple-birth children is often reported to be atypical. Some researchers have claimed that they use 'twin language', i.e. an autonomous language specific to a multiple-birth set. This claim was investigated by describing and comparing the phonological characteristics of the speech of 19 sets of two- to four-year-old multiple-birth children, and by measuring multiple-birth children's understanding of their twins' or triplets' context-free speech. The results indicated that multiple-birth children are prone to phonological disorder and consequently their speech is often unintelligible. Siblings' phonologies evidenced some similarities, although they were not identical. Multiple-birth children were better able to understand their siblings' mispronunciations than were other children of the same age, although that understanding was dependent on how closely the error form resembled the adult form. While these three factors conspire to give the impression that 'twin language' is common, none of these findings provided support for the claim that multiple-birth children use an autonomous language.

Articulation Disorders↗
PubMed1994

Perceived risks of radioactive waste transport through Oregon: results of a statewide survey.

Transportation of hazardous materials, and particularly radioactive wastes, on public highways has become an important risk management issue. The unfavorability of public attitudes regarding hazardous and nuclear wastes signals the potential for strong public opposition to programs for transporting these materials. This paper presents the results of a survey conducted to assess public reactions to a long-term nuclear waste transport program planned to follow a route through a portion of rural Oregon. The survey assessed a number of key risk perception issues, including perceived health and safety risks of nuclear waste transport, relative risks of transport vs. storage at an existing site, trust in state officials, and satisfaction with life in communities along the transport route. The survey identified a number of attitudes and concerns that need to be understood and considered by those in charge of designing and implementing the waste-transportation program.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1994

The motor planning abilities of phonologically disordered children.

The motor planning abilities of three subgroups of speech-disordered children were compared to normally speaking age- and comprehension-matched controls. There were 10 phonologically delayed children who used sound-pattern errors typical of chronologically aged younger children (delayed group); 10 children whose phonological system was characterised by the consistent use of non-developmental phonological processes (deviant consistent group); and 10 children whose production of specific lexical items and phonological features was variable (inconsistent group). The groups were compared on tasks that assessed simple and complex motor planning for hand movements and expressive and receptive novel-word learning. The groups did not differ on a simple task of motor planning for hand movements. However, the inconsistent group performed more poorly than all the other groups on a more complex, timed motor-planning task. Although the groups performed equally well on a task assessing receptive novel-word learning, the inconsistent group performed more poorly than all the other groups on an expressive novel-word learning task. The results provide support for the hypothesis that speech-disordered children with different surface error patterns have different underlying deficits in the speech-processing chain. Specifically, inconsistent error patterns are associated with a deficit in some aspects of fine motor planning.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Evaluation of an intervention program: relation between children's phonology and parents' communicative behavior.

Parents of 9 preschoolers with Down syndrome participated in a training program focusing on phonological skills. Three of the children were producing multiword utterances, but their speech was characterized by jargon and/or inconsistent errors. The remaining 6 children had very few spoken words or were mute; some relied on a Makaton sign vocabulary. Parents attended twelve 3-hour training sessions. Videotapes of parent-child interactions (made before, during, and after the program) were analyzed for number and type of children's phonological errors and rating of parents' therapeutic skills. Results showed that measures of the children's phonological abilities were correlated with their parents' interactional communication skills.

Child↗
PubMed1993

Development of spelling ability and letter--sound orientation in primary school children.

Recent research has established the link between disorders of spoken and written language. Consequently, speech and language therapists serving paediatric populations often need to assess children's spelling abilities. However, there are few appropriate assessments of normal abilities available. In order to describe, quantitatively and qualitatively, the normal development of spelling ability in the primary school years, a modified version of the Schonell Graded Spelling Test (1956) was used to assess 1372 children in grades 2-6 in five city and two rural schools. The results were analysed in terms of three scores: percentage of words spelled correctly; words not attempted; and misspellings that were phonologically plausible. Spelling ability varied according to the school attended and the social status of the child. Children in higher socioeconomic status groups were better spellers. Children who were good spellers tended to generate more phonologically plausible misspellings. Further, there was a strong tendency for the percentage of errors which were phonologically plausible to increase developmentally. Thus, the results support models of spelling development showing that phonological awareness is associated with the acquisition of adequate spelling ability. However, alternative strategies must also be acquired to account for the successful spelling of orthographically irregular words.

Child↗
PubMed1992

The communication abilities of 2- to 4-year-old twins.

The speech and language abilities of pre-school multiple-birth children (MBC) are often reported to be impaired. In this study, teh syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, articulation and phonological skills of 19 sets of MBC were assessed. The comparisons made were between MBC and matched singleton controls, between siblings within multiple-birth sets, and for each multiple-birth child with different conversational partners (sibling versus speech and language therapist). The results indicated that the MBC performed more poorly than the singleton controls on measures of syntax and phonology. Whilst there were quantitative and qualitative similarities between siblings' linguistic abilities, their phonologies were not identical, and the MBC's speech and language changed with different conversational partners. The implications of the results for the existence of 'twin language', choice of language sample for assessment of functional communication and the need for preventive intervention programmes are discussed.

Child Language↗
PubMed1989

Risks of radioactive material transportation accidents in Oregon.

As a continuation of previous research on worst case transportation accidents involving radioactive material (Dodd and Humphries 1988a), and protective action guidance for radioactive material transportation accidents (Dodd and Humphries 1988b), this paper describes the risks from such accidents in Oregon. Radioactive material transportation risks are defined in terms of accident consequences multiplied by the accident probabilities and are expressed as latent cancer fatalities (LCFs). For each of 17 different shipment types, five dose contributions are summed and multiplied by the population density and accident probability. The five dose contributors considered are: inhalation, resuspension, cloudshine, groundshine and direct exposure. The variables over which each of these dose contributors are integrated include seven accident severity categories, three population density zones, five regions of the state, as well as many isopleth areas and radionuclides. Allowance is also made for the possible distribution of meteorological conditions in each area. The dose to the public, emergency responders, pedestrians and personnel in other traffic are all considered. It is concluded that the current level of risk is 1.2 X 10(-5) latent cancer fatalities per year in Oregon. This is equivalent to one LCF every 83,000 y. This compares to 1.2 non-radiological fatalities associated from the same shipments.

Accidents↗
PubMed1989

Teaching lip-reading: the efficacy of lessons on video.

Studies of the efficacy of filmed and videotaped materials for lip-reading self instruction have provided encouraging results. The recent increase in private ownership of VCRs allows widespread home use of video lessons for improving lip-reading skills. Such an approach is particularly, useful for hearing-impaired adults who have no access to lip-reading classes. To fill this need in Australia a 3-hour video cassette of nine lip-reading lessons was produced. The video lessons were tested over a period of 5 weeks. The study showed a significant improvement in the lip-reading skill of students who studied the video cassette compared to a control group who did not. The extent of improvement did not differ for students who studied the video in a class, at home, or as supplementary teaching material. While the age and sex of the subjects did not influence improvement of lip-reading skills, the study showed greater improvement for the relatively poorer lip-readers. More detailed testing of one group of students showed generalization of lip-reading skills to unfamiliar speakers and materials.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Phonological disorders in children: changes in phonological process use during treatment.

Unintelligible speech in childhood is often characterised by the use of unusual or deviant (i.e. non-developmental) phonological processes, e.g. initial consonant deletion. These processes are reported to appear at speech onset and to undergo little spontaneous change during the preschool years. The study reported here documents the changes that occurred in the phonological systems of seven phonologically disordered children during remediation that targeted unusual phonological processes. Qualitative changes in phonological process use were observed for all children. Six of the children made quantitative improvement in terms of the percentage consonants produced correctly in spontaneous speech. Individual differences in phonological learning strategy use are described.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1988

Protective action guide for radioactive material transportation accidents.

This paper briefly describes a report which has been developed to enable protective action guidance to be determined for transportation accidents involving radioactive material. The protective action guide uses data from on-scene observations as input to a series of simple flow charts leading to protective action recommendations. Where the necessary data is unavailable or unknown, the guide uses the assumptions and results found in the authors' worst case hazards analysis report.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

Hazards assessment of worst case transportation accidents involving typical radioactive material shipments.

This paper reports the results of a study performed for the Oregon Department of Energy. The objectives of the study were to characterize the range of radioactive material shipments through the state and to determine the worst radiological hazards which might arise if these shipments were involved in transportation accidents. The direct and indirect radiological hazards were analyzed for worst case accidents involving a total of 10 typical shipments. The direct hazard primarily involved the gamma radiation from the material, while the indirect hazard considered the airborne release hazards of inhalation/ingestion, cloudshine and groundshine. The general and specific assumptions used in the study are given, and the results are tabulated, giving doses and dose rates as a function of distance. The data from the study are being incorporated into a protective action guide for use by state and local emergency responders. This guide bases the protective actions on the available, observable data and on flow charts which use the worst-case assumptions for unknown data.

Accidents↗