Temporal masking-level differences: the effect of mask duration.
Psychometric functions were obatained for the interaural conditions NoSo and NoSπ in both forward and backward masking using masks of different durations. In addition, data were collected for the Sm, Sπ and So conditions without an external mask. The slope parameter k and the signal level required for 76% correct detection were computed with a least‐squares technique. The results were that both temporal masking and temporal masking‐level differences (MLDs) increased monotonically with longer mask durations. This mask‐duration effect was more pronounced for forward masking than for backward masking. Without an external mask, the signal was about 3 dB more detectable in the So configuration than in the Sπ configuration, and it was about 4 dB more detectabe in the Sπ configuration than in the Sm configuration. The psychometric functions were generally steeper for the NoSπ condition than for the NoSo condition in forward masking, but not in backward masking. They were also steeper for the Sπ condition than fo...
Binaural signal detection, overall masking level, and masker interaural correlation: revisiting the internal noise hypothesis.
This study provides data concerning the characteristics of internal noise that limits binaural detection at 500 Hz under "pulsed" masking conditions and evaluates whether the parameters of such internal noise depend upon masker/signal duration. A single-interval adaptive procedure was employed to measure NoSpi detection thresholds as a joint function of the level of broadband masking noise and masker/signal duration. Spi detection thresholds were also measured as a joint function of the interaural correlation of the masker and masker/signal duration. Findings include : (1) changes in Spi thresholds taken either as a function of diotic masker level or as a function of masker interaural correlation are independent of masker/signal duration; (2) 500-Hz "quiet" So and Spi thresholds yield a masking-level difference of -2.0; (3) reductions in thresholds with increasing duration are similar regardless of masker level. Analyses indicate: (1) the presence of stimulus-independent, interaurally-negatively-correlated, additive internal noise and stimulus-dependent internal noise having a level proportional to that of the external masker while being independent of masker/signal duration; (2) that NoSpi thresholds taken as a joint function of masker/signal duration and masker spectrum level are, quantitatively, well described by taking into account effects produced by the combination of internal and external noises.
Gender Politics and Research: Male and Female Violence in Intimate Relationships
This article reviews a wide range of research reports on male and female violence in intimate relationships and highlights the political nature of domestic violence research. The authors review incidence and prevalence-based research that uses quantitative surveys and illustrate how quantitative, family-focussed researchers tend to ignore the political and social context of domestic violence and the complex issues of gender and power. The authors argue that understanding the complexities of domestic violence requires clear definitions of what constitutes domestic violence and multi-method approaches to research, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.