Shawn A. Weil, M.A. 2001, Ph.D. 2003
Research Interests
- Cognitive Systems Engineering
- Speech Technology and Human Performance
- Talker Variability and the Perception of Foreign Accented Speech
- Human Computer Interaction
- Music Cognition
Current Research Program
When you think about it, it is a wonder that humans are able to act and think as well as they do. The world is a complex, dynamic place, and we have to navigate it expertly to be successful. How do we do it? How are we able to successfully interact and communicate, plan and attend, and make decisions and judgments? When and why do we fail?
My graduate research investigated the way in which human listeners handle intense variability in the acoustic speech signal. Despite variations in pitch, rate, manner, and dysfuction, listeners have a startling ability to understand spoken language. Understanding how this is accomplised may give clues about the organization of the language as a cognitive process. A prototypical example of this variability is foreign accented speech (FAS). Many people report that they tend to understand a FAS talker better with more exposure to the accented speech. Furthermore, people also report that exposure to one talker with an accent helps when a similarly accented talker is encountered.
Publications
Weil, S.A. (2003). The Impact of Perceptual Dissimilarity on the Perception of Foreign Accented Speech. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. The Ohio State University.
Weil, S.A. (2003). The Impact of Phonetic Dissimilarity on the Perception of Foreign Accented Speech. Poster presented at the 146th Meeting of the Acousitcal Society of America, Austin, TX.
Weil, S.A. (2002). Comparing Intelligibility of Several Non-Native Accent Classes in Noise. Poster presented at the 7th International Conference on Spoken Language Processing, Denver, CO, September 2002.
Crawley, E.J., Acker-Mills, B.E., Pastore, R.E., & Weil, S.A. (2002). Change detection in multi-voice music: The role of musical structure, musical training, and task demands. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 28(2), 367-378.
Weil, S.A. (2001). Foreign Accented Speech: Adaptation and Encoding. Poster presented at the 141th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Chicago, IL.
Weil, S.A. (2001). Foreign Accented Speech: Adaptation and Generalization. Unpublished Master's Thesis. The Ohio State University.
Weil, S.A. (2000). Perception of Foreign Accents Over Time. Poster presented at Cogfest 2000. Center for Cognitive Science, Ohio State University; Columbus, OH. Chart Graphs.
Weil, S.A. (1999). Interpreting Gerner Interference. Poster presented at teh 138th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Columbus, OH.
Hobbies
When I am not at school, I enjoy spending time with my wonderful wife Beren Gayle. I also enjoy playing euphonium with the Clintonville Community Band, and singing with the Columbus Symphony Chorus.
I also enjoy cookies, watching endless hours of TV, fantasy novels, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, jigsaw puzzles, the Beatles, the Wizard of Oz, and more cookies.
More About Shawn
If you haven't had enough of me, you can try these links:
Contact Information
Email Address:
sweil[at]tangerinecrafts.com (just replace 'at' with '@')
