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This paper describes adult symptoms of Central Auditory Processing Disorder and provides strategies for dealing with this disability. Symptoms include talking or turning on the television louder than normal, interpreting words too literally, needing remarks repeated, having difficulty sounding out words, ignoring people, being unusually sensitive to sound, asking many extra informational questions, confusing similar-sounding words, having difficulty following directions in a series, developing speech late or unclearly, communicating poorly, memorizing poorly, hearing better when watching the speaker, and having problems with rapid speech. Strategies for compensating for the disability include: (1) asking for a desk away from computers or for a sound-absorbent partition, or using a mild-gain amplifier; (2) using earplugs and having someone else proofread work; (3) being tapped on the shoulder before being addressed conversationally and adjusting telephone bells and alarms for volume; (4) asking for information in writing; (5) taking notes and setting up a logbook for longer-term assignments; and (6) learning cues on how to read people's feelings and how to change speech accordingly. (CR)

This article discusses the results of a case study that investigated the effectiveness of an auditory prompting system, using earphones and a cassette, to improve on-task job performance of an adult with mild mental retardation. Guidelines for working with adults and student to improve job and task performance are provided. (Contains references.) (CR)

In 1981, North Texas State University (NTSU) conducted an experiment in sound sources which was made possible by a grant from the Apple Education Foundation. The culminating research of the grant was the testing of the AFL sound source and Micromusic sound sources, as well as the NTSU sound source, AMUS. Students participated in the experiment to determine relative effectiveness of the sound systems in an ear-training computer assisted instruction (CAI) environment. The experiment was designed over 2 semesters using 36 freshman students to test the three software sound sources in terms of their achievement and preference. It was found that, while students have definite preferences for differing sound sources in music CAI, their preferences correlated most closely with their achievement in a given curriculum area rather than with the sound source itself. The four appendixes contain printouts of lessons used in the experiment; a technical description of the headphones used, written by David Bradfield; a diagram of the Apple Grant Experimental Design; and a copy of the Apple Grant Experiment Participant Sheet. (Contains 9 references.) (ALF)

This synthesis of the research on direct manipulation interfaces explores the nature of directness in computer interfaces and demonstrates that the concept of directness is complex, including two gulfs--for execution and evaluation--and two kinds of mappings--semantic mappings and referential distance. Examination of the complexities of the differences among interface styles shows the importance of visibility and sound in the performance of tasks, and a detailed analysis of the general attributes of cognitive artifacts is presented, including a new theoretical construct, the object-symbol. These analyses allow for a deeper understanding of the differences among existing human-machine interfaces and provide the background for the development of a new class of interfaces that promise superior performance. Twenty-four references are listed, and a draft checklist for the design of an artifact is appended. (Author/MES)

Presents guidelines for orientation and mobility instructors and traffic engineers to assess the need for adaptive devices to make crosswalks at signalized intersections accessible to pedestrians with visual impairments. The discussions of audible and tactile pedestrian devices, along with case examples, distinguish when each device should be implemented. (Author/CR)

Presents nine teaching strategies to increase correspondence between visual and auditory modes of presentation. The techniques, focusing on presentation syntax, instructor placement/movement, and methods of eliciting students' input, were originally designed for students with hearing and visual impairments, but have proven to promote clarity for all students, including those with differing learning preferences and non-native English speakers. (Author/MSE)

This article suggests that the development of listening skills should extend to the "soundscape" of nonspeech acoustical information. It presents a model for effective aural processing, identifies categories of information obtained from nonverbal sound, and explores "ear-tuning" or listening exercises that use sound to glean information about time, distance, movement, space, and figure/ground relationships. (LAM)

Explores how auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and symbolic/abstract learning modalities can be applied to interpretive presentations to capture an entire audience. In addition to addressing diverse learning styles, the article discusses presentation outlines, making the concept personal, combining song, music, and drama, and using action rather than talk. (MKR)

The course is designed to train noise survey technicians during a 3-5 day period to make reliable measurements of 75 percent of the noise problems encountered in the community. The more complex noise problems remaining will continue to be handled by experienced specialists. These technicians will be trained to assist State and local governments in enforcement of their noise ordinances and in investigations of noise complaints. (NTIS)

This booklet was designed to aid parents in making things at home to develop their newborn to 2-year-old children's skills. Suggested are easy-to-make visual stimuli for infants up to 6 weeks of age and 6 weeks to 3 months of age. For the latter, tactile stimuli also are considered. For infants 3 to 6 months of age, objects providing visual, tactile, and/or auditory stimulation are suggested. Objects considered appropriate for infants 6- to 8-months-old, a period especially important for the development of intelligence, include aerosol can caps for stacking and nesting, a shaking and banging toy made of empty spools and a shoe string, a rattle box made from a compartmentalized clear plastic storage box containing small objects such as buttons, sequins, wooden beads, or unpopped popcorn in individual compartments, an oatmeal box drum, rolling cylinders made of empty salt containers filled with dried beans or rocks, a toy retrieval device to attach to a high chair, and a peek-a-boo book. Similar suggestions are made for infants 8 to 14 months of age and 14 months to 2 years of age. Line drawings illustrate the contents. The booklet cautions that homemade toys, household objects used as playthings, and bought toys must be checked frequently for safety. A list of household objects that can be used as playthings and a short list of recommended readings are provided. (RH)

Expresses concern over the apparent deprivation among young children of the important range of sensory experiences that are found in quiet places. Argues that classrooms have so much inviting play that time and space for quiet reflection are lacking. Provides specific "quiet" ideas and practices for use in child care settings. (SD)

A considerable variety of experimental psychological and neurological evidence has proven the cortical regions of the brain that are responsible for motor processes and perceptual processes to be in a state of continuous mutual communication. Resulting from this relationship is the phenomenon of cortical activity occurring in motor regions of the brain due to exposure to auditory stimuli. Behind this activity is the mirror neuron system, which can mirror auditory stimuli as motor activity, as proven by brain imaging experiments with musicians. The present study aims to investigate whether this phenomenon can be observed behaviourally for pianists, by examining the effect of piano music when engaged in other piano-like motor tasks. A motor-cognitive finger-sequencing experiment was conducted with a group of pianists (N = 11) and a musically naïve control group (N = 11). Each participant performed three similar tasks, with the sole difference being the accompanied auditory stimuli: the Quiet Test without any music (QT), the Piano Test with piano music (PT), and the non-Piano Test with non-piano-containing music (nPT). No significant results were found when examining the effect of different types of music on motor performance within the groups. The pianists did however significantly outperform the control group in speed, regardless of auditory stimulus. Despite the statistical results, the qualitative accounts of several pianists revealed that they experienced motor-related distractions during PT that were not present during QT and nPT. The results indicate the possibility of background piano music distracting pianists from performing similar motor tasks, although it might not affect their performance as drastically as initially theorised. Further research is necessary to uncover a clearer account of this relationship, as definitive conclusions cannot be drawn from the current results.

Filial imprinting is a type of early developmental learning in which certain species buildstrong and mostly irreversible connections to objects or individuals. These connections couldbe shaped by the contribution of several stimuli including the fragments of auditory and visual components. This study aims to describe the duration of the imprinting process as well asestimate long-term behavioural changes in chicks. In this experiment, a total of 78 chicks were used out of which 39 were exposed to imprinting stimuli and the rest served as control.We applied three different tests and replicated them after the imprinting procedure. These tests are Imprinting Preference Test, Social Preference Test and Social isolation Test. Imprinted chicks had a constantly shorter latency to approach the imprinting stimuli for boththose two experiments with or without novel objects, whereas no preferences spent time inimprinting stimuli. However, introducing a novel object affected imprinting preferences more in terms of spending a longer time around the hen zone. During social isolation, the control group showed a relatively higher rate of distress calls even though our results don’t bear on the significant effect of filial imprinting on changes in distress calling. Overall, this study suggests the presence of long-lasting filial imprinting that is more triggered by external situations.

Misophonia is a condition characterized by a strong physiological, emotional, and behaviouralresponse to specific auditory stimuli, which have a significant negative impact on the wellbeingof affected individuals. The present investigation focuses on emotional dysregulation, which arises due to the triggering of specific auditory stimuli. Individuals with misophoniastruggle to regulate their emotions when exposed to sounds, leading to emotional reactions, including anger, anxiety, disgust, avoidance behaviour, fight or flight, and feeling overwhelmed. These reactions might even lead to violent impulses directed towards the source of the sound. Despite its growing recognition, little is yet known about misophonia, and experts have not established any clear boundaries or criteria for the condition to be considered adisorder. As such, it is not yet included in any classification systems for disorders. The aim of this study is to understand how individuals with misophonia experience emotional dysregulation, how do they describe their experience, what is it like to live with misophonia ona day-to-day basis, and how do individuals understand and cope with emotional dysregulation caused by misophonia? The study utilized a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews as the data collection method. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns and themes within the data. Participants stated that misophonia causes significant distress and disruption impacting emotional well-being and daily functioning. Validation of this new condition can be very helpful and make a positive impact in their social circle, and that lack of awareness and effective treatment may hold back seeking professional help.

The digital transformation of marketing leads to new forms of interaction with consumers. It has been established and well known that auditory stimuli generally affect human behavior. However, in the field of sensory marketing, only limited attention has been paid to the role and effects of audition in online marketing. In this research, we will further explore how sound influences consumer product selection in a digitalized setting. We have designed and performed an experiment in which respondents in a webshop environment were asked to select a bottle of wine from two different countries while hearing stereotypical music samples representing one of these countries. Our conclusion: In an online setting, auditory stimuli strongly influence consumer selection. In the case of constructed preferences, this effect was considerably stronger compared to well-defined preferences. These insights can help to further develop the effective use of sound stimuli in new forms of sensory marketing, such as virtual reality and other digital experiences in the marketing and sales context.

A brain–computer interface (BCI) is a communication tool that analyzes neural activity and relays the translated commands to carry out actions. In recent years, semi-supervised learning (SSL) has attracted attention for visual event-related potential (ERP)-based BCIs and motor-imagery BCIs as an effective technique that can adapt to the variations in patterns among subjects and trials. The applications of the SSL techniques are expected to improve the performance of auditory ERP-based BCIs as well. However, there is no conclusive evidence supporting the positive effect of SSL techniques on auditory ERP-based BCIs. If the positive effect could be verified, it will be helpful for the BCI community. In this study, we assessed the effects of SSL techniques on two public auditory BCI datasets—AMUSE and PASS2D—using the following machine learning algorithms: step-wise linear discriminant analysis, shrinkage linear discriminant analysis, spatial temporal discriminant analysis, and least-squares support vector machine. These backbone classifiers were firstly trained by labeled data and incrementally updated by unlabeled data in every trial of testing data based on SSL approach. Although a few data of the datasets were negatively affected, most data were apparently improved by SSL in all cases. The overall accuracy was logarithmically increased with every additional unlabeled data. This study supports the positive effect of SSL techniques and encourages future researchers to apply them to auditory ERP-based BCIs.

Background: In patients with long QT syndrome (LQTS), swimming and loud noises have been identified as genotype-specific arrhythmic triggers in LQTS type 1 (LQTS1) and LQTS type 2 (LQTS2), respectively. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare LQTS group responses to arrhythmic triggers. Methods: LQTS1 and LQTS2 patients were included. Before and after beta-blocker intake, electrocardiograms were recorded as participants (1) were exposed to a loud noise of ∼100 dB; and (2) had their face immersed into cold water. Results: Twenty-three patients (9 LQTS1, 14 LQTS2) participated. In response to noise, LQTS groups showed similarly increased heart rate, but LQTS2 patients had corrected QT interval (Fridericia formula) (QTcF) prolonged significantly more than LQTS1 patients (37 ± 8 ms vs 15 ± 6 ms; P = .02). After intake of beta-blocker, QTcF prolongation in LQTS2 patients was significantly blunted and similar to that of LQTS1 patients (P = .90). In response to simulated diving, LQTS groups experienced a heart rate drop of ∼28 bpm, which shortened QTcF similarly in both groups. After intake of beta-blockers, heart rate dropped to 28 ± 2 bpm in LQTS1 patients and 20 ± 3 bpm in LQTS2, resulting in a slower heart rate in LQTS1 compared with LQTS2 (P = .01). In response, QTcF shortened similarly in LQTS1 and LQTS2 patients (57 ± 9 ms vs 36 ± 7 ms; P = .10). Conclusion: When exposed to noise, LQTS2 patients had QTc prolonged significantly more than did LQTS1 patients. Importantly, beta-blockers reduced noise-induced QTc prolongation in LQTS2 patients, thus demonstrating the protective effect of beta-blockers. In response to simulated diving, LQTS groups responded similarly, but a slower heart rate was observed in LQTS1 patients during simulated diving after beta-blocker intake.

The Stroop effect is the delay in reaction times due to interference. Since the original experiments of 1935, it has been used primarily in linguistic context. Language is a complex skill unique to humans, which involves a large part of the cerebral cortex and many subcortical regions. It is perceived primarily in auditory form (spoken) and secondarily in visual form (written), but it is also always perceived in representational form (natural sounds, images, smells, etc). Auditory signals are processed much faster than visual signals, and the language processing centres are closer to the primary auditory cortex than the primary visual cortex, but due to the integration of stimuli and the role of the executive functions, we are able to perceive both simultaneously and coherently. However, auditory signals are still processed faster, and this study focused on establishing how auditory and visual, linguistic and representational stimuli interact with each other and affect reaction times in four Stroop tasks with four archetypal mammals (dog, cat, mouse and pig): a written word against an image, a spoken word against an image, a written word against a natural sound and a spoken word against a natural sound. Four hypotheses were tested: in all tasks reaction times would be faster when the stimuli were congruent (Stroop Hypothesis); reaction times would be faster when both stimuli are auditory than when they are visual (Audiovisual Hypothesis); reaction times would be similar in the tasks where one stimulus is auditory and the other visual (Similarity Hypothesis); finally, reaction times would be slower when stimuli come from two sources than when they come from one source (Attention Hypothesis). Twelve native speakers of Swedish between the ages of 22 and 40 participated. The experiment took place in the EEG lab of the Linguistics Department of Stockholm University. The same researcher (the author) and equipment was used for all participants. The results confirmed the St

Visual and auditory prostheses involve surgeries that are complex, expensive, and invasive. They are limited to a small number of electrodes and can only be used when the impairment is peripheral. The Vibe and PSVA encode the entire image in one complex sound. The PSVA uses frequencies that are associated with each pixel and increase from left to right and from bottom to top of the image. The Vibe splits the image into several regions that are equivalent to receptive fields. The challenge in this project resides in the design of a suitable encoding of the visual scene into auditory stimuli such that the content of the sound carries the most important characteristics of the visual scene. These sounds should be shaped in a way that the subject can build mental representations of visual scenes even if the information carrier is the auditory pathway. The complex sound is the sum of all single sounds from each segment. One complex sound is generated for the right ear and another one for the left.

Titel: Se, hör & shoppa! En undersökning kring hur det med visuell och auditiv stimuli går att påverka kundens rörelsemönster och köpbeteende i butik. Författare: Klara Johansson, Marina Johansson Handledare: Professor Bertil Hultén Examinator: Universitetslektor Leif V Rytting Kurs: Företagsekonomi III – Examensarbete inriktning detaljhandel och service management (kandidat) 15hp Problemformulering: Hur påverkas kundens rörelsemönster och köpbeteende i en butiksmiljö med hjälp av visuella stimuli samt auditivt stimuli? Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka, analysera och klargöra huruvida kundens rörelsemönster och köpbeteende kan påverkas med hjälp av sensoriska stimuli. Vi vill med hjälp av en multisensorisk upplevelse, vita pilar samt ljudet av fågelkvitter, försöka påverka kundens vägval i butiken för att bidra till att denne ska uppmärksamma större del av butiksytan. Metod: Examensarbetet har utformats med ett deduktivt angreppssätt. Vi har gjort en kvantitativ analys med en experimentell ansats. En omfattande litteraturstudie har legat till grund för de hypoteser som formulerats, i syfte att svara på forskningsfrågan. Primärdata har samlats in genom sammanlagt 1347 observationer på Plantagen i Kalmar. Slutsats: En slutsats av arbetet är att kunderna påverkas till att följa visuella stimuli i form av pilar. Det är därmed möjligt att påverka kunden att se mer av butikens yta med hjälp av visuella stimuli. Vi kan även visa att tillsättning av auditivt stimuli och visuella stimuli påverkar köpbeteendet i form av tid spenderad i experimentzonen, men det behövs vidare forskning för att utreda i vilken grad påverkan sker. Nyckelord: Sinnesmarknadsföring, visuell stimuli, auditiv stimuli, butiker, rörelsemönster, multisensorik, kongruens, Title: See, hear & shop! A Study of how visual and auditory stimuli can influence the customer's movement patterns and buying behaviour in store. Authors: Klara Johansson, Marina Johansson Supervisor: Professor Bertil Hultén Ph.D. Examiner: Senior Lecturer Leif V Rytting Ph.D. Course: Business economies III – Retail and service management (C level) Issues: How are the customer's movement patterns and buying behaviour affected in store with the help of visual and auditory stimuli? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate, analyse and clarify whether the customer's movement patterns and buying behaviour can be affected by means of sensory stimuli. With the help of sensory marketing, white arrows and bird song, we want to influence the customer's choice of direction in the store with the purpose of making the customer notice a wider part of the store. Methodology: The thesis has been designed with a deductive approach. We have done a quantitative analysis with an experimental approach. An extensive search for literature has been the basis of the hypotheses formulated, in order to answer the research question. Primary data were collected through a total of 1347 observations at Plantagen in Kalmar. Findings: A finding of this thesis is that customers are influenced to follow the visual stimuli by the means of white arrows. It is thereby possible to affect customers to notice a wider part of the store by the means of visual stimuli. We can also show that adding auditory stimuli and visual stimuli can affect the buying behaviour in the matter of time spent in the experimental zone, although further research is required to exam to which extent the impact occurs. Keywords: Sensory marketing, visual stimuli, auditory stimuli, in stores, movement patterns, multisensory, congruence

Objective: This study was to find out whether the simple reaction time was faster for auditory or visual stimulus. And also whether there is any relationship between Reaction time and gender of an individual. Methodology: 32 first year M.B.B.S. students were divided randomly into 2 groups each consisting of 16 male students and 16 female students. Both the groups were performed for the visual and auditory tests. The tests were taken from the Direct RT software program from a laptop. The Direct RT software consists of Test lab visual and Test lab sounds to test the reaction times to visual and auditory stimuli. For each group both the visual and auditory reaction time test were conducted and, the data was taken. The mean reaction time was calculated excluding the first and last values. Results: The results shows that the mean visual reaction time is around 293.37± 13.01 milliseconds as compared to the mean auditory reaction time of around 248.61 ±12.84 milliseconds. The mean visual reaction time is 285.59±12.53 milliseconds in males and 301.15±13.49 milliseconds in females. The mean auditory reaction time is 246.88±14.33 milliseconds in males and 250.35±11.36 milliseconds in females. Conclusion: This shows that the auditory reaction time is faster than the visual reaction time. And also males have faster reaction times when compared to females for both auditory as well as visual stimuli.

Voice and gestures are natural sketching tools that can be exploited to communicate sonic interactions. In product and interaction design, sounds should be included in the early stages of the design process. Scientists of human motion have shown that auditory stimuli are important in the performance of difficult tasks and can elicit anticipatory postural adjustments in athletes. These findings justify the attention given to sound in interaction design for gaming, especially in action and sports games that afford the development of levels of virtuosity. The sonic manifestations of objects can be designed by acting on their mechanical qualities and by augmenting the objects with synthetic and responsive sounds., QC 20150608

The data about some odors and auditory stimuli that influence on the sexual sphere of people are submitted, Представлены данные о запахах и аудиальных стимулах, оказывающих влияние на сексуальную сферу человека., Наведено дані про запахи та аудіальні стимули, які здійснюють вплив на сексуальну сферу людини.

It is usually easy to understand speech, but when several people are talking at once it becomes difficult. The brain must select one speech stream and ignore distracting streams. This thesis tested a theory about the neural and computational mechanisms of attentional selection. The theory is that oscillating signals in brain networks phase-lock with amplitude fluctuations in speech. By doing this, brain-wide networks acquire information from the selected speech, but ignore other speech signals on the basis of their non-preferred dynamics. Two predictions were supported: first, attentional selection boosted the power of neuroelectric signals that were phase-locked with attended speech, but not ignored speech. Second, this phase selectivity was associated with better perception for the attended speech. We also describe a novel analysis of neuroelectric responses in complex auditory scenes, and suggest a new model of auditory distraction that is consistent with some unexpected results.

Charles Chubb is a Professor in UCI Department of Cognitive Sciences. He holds a B.A in Philosophy from Princeton in 1973 and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from NYU in 1985. His research is primarily focused on computational modeling of visual and auditory perception. Past research has focused on visual texture perception, brightness and lightness perception, motion perception, feature-based visual attention, and camouflage. This collection includes supplementary material (e.g., examples of auditory stimuli used in experiments) to which his various publications refer.

In this paper we present an ERP study examining the underlying nature of semantic representation of animate and inanimate objects. Time-locking ERP signatures to the onset of auditory stimuli we found topological similarities in animate and inanimate object processing. Moreover, we found no difference between animates and inanimates in the N400 amplitude, when mapping more specific to more general representation (visual to auditory stimuli). These studies provide further evidence for the theory of unitary semantic organization, but no support for the feature-based prediction of segregated conceptual organization. Further comparisons of animate vs. inanimate matches and within-vs. between-category mismatches revealed following results: processing of animate matches elicited more positivity than processing of inanimates within the N400 time-window; also, inanimate mismatches elicited a stronger N400 than did animate mismatches. Based on these findings we argue that one of the possible explanations for finding different and sometimes contradictory results in the literature regarding processing and representations of animates and inanimates in the brain could lie in the variability of selected items within each of the categories, that is, homogeneity of the categories.

Emotion can be studied by measuring physiological, behavioral, and verbal responses to specific stimuli. In current research, it is most common to use visual stimuli to measure the emotional response. One of the most common sets of stimuli used for this purpose is the International Affective Picture Systems (IAPS). An additional set of stimuli, the International Affective Digital Sounds (IADS), was created to be an auditory equivalent of the IAPS. The present study sought to compare the emotional response (measured with Heart Rate, Skin Conductance, and a self-report measure of emotion called the SAM) to sounds from the IADS and images from the IAPS. The self-report measure has participants rate each stimulus for arousal, valence, dominance, and interestingness by using a nine point scale anchored at one end by calm, unpleasant, not in control, and boring and at the other by excited, pleasant, in full control, and riveting, respectively. The present study also looked at differences in emotional response to sounds and images when they were presented in a pure block (all images and then all sounds or reverse) compared to a mixed block (a block of sounds and images, followed by a block of sounds and images). There were a total of 40 participants (34 female, 4 male; mean age 27.08), all of whom were recruited from a local university. Results revealed a significant difference (p < .05) in the heart rate and skin conductance response to sounds versus images. There was also a significant (p < .05) difference in self-reported arousal and dominance to images and sounds. Furthermore, there was a significant difference (p < .05) between the Pure Stimulus and Mixed Stimulus groups for heart rate and self-reported arousal and dominance. Results from this study do not support the theory that auditory and visual stimuli evoke similar physiological and self-reported emotional responses. Results also suggest that stimulus presentation may play a role in the observed or perceived dif

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is reported to be caused by traumatic events that are outside the range of usual human experiences, including (but not limited to) military combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage, and terrorist attacks. Initial data suggests that 1 out of 6 Iraqi War veterans are exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Virtual Reality (VR) exposure treatment has been used in previous treatments of PTSD patients with reports of positive outcomes. The aim of the current paper is to present the rationale, technical specifications, application features, and user-centered design process for the development of a Virtual Iraq PTSD VR therapy application. The VR treatment environment is being created via the recycling of virtual graphic assets that were initially built for the U.S. Army-funded combat tactical simulation scenario and commercially successful X-Box game, "Full Spectrum Warrior," in addition to other available and newly created assets. Thus far, the authors have created a series of customizable virtual scenarios designed to represent relevant contexts for exposure therapy to be conducted in VR, including a city and a desert road convoy environment. User-Centered tests with the application are currently underway at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, and within an Army Combat Stress Control Team in Iraq, with clinical trials scheduled to commence in February 2006., Prepared in cooperation with Virtually Better, Inc., Decatur, GA, and the United States Army, 98th Med Det (CSC), Tallil AB, LSA Adder, Iraq. Pub. in the IEEE Virtual Reality 2006 Proceedings, p64-71, 2006.

In 2002, a Wildlife Services wildlife biologist from Nevada, a Wildlife Services wildlife specialist from Oregon, and a mechanical engineer from California came together with their ideas about designing an effective and easy-to-implement electronic calling system (ECS). Their common vision was a for a self-contained, user-friendly device that would be highly effective at attracting or “calling in” specific offending individuals of various species to a given location, during a specific time period, and hold them at or near that site for a period of time. Through field trials and modifications, an ECS named the “Chuck Box” was developed. It proved to be an effective self-contained tool, when the correct sound and time combinations were employed, and we describe our success in using it for mountain lions and coyotes. It was especially useful in “anchoring” wide-ranging and/or sporadically problematic animals to a site where control tools could easily be utilized or wildlife damage management actions could be initiated. In 2004, non-wildlife sounds were added to the memory card of the unit, making the Chuck Box also function as an effective non-lethal scare device. Thus, the Chuck Box can provide non-lethal harassment or provide support during lethal wildlife damage management activities. Field results indicate that the Chuck Box can be highly effective in increasing capture success, holding animals in the proximity of the station, and in deterring various wildlife species

A portable 12-v battery-operated coyote frightening device was developed for reducing coyote predation on sheep and evaluated on fenced pasture farm flock operations (1979-1982). In 1986, the final experimental model consisted of a PVC case, a timer, a blinking strobe light, and a warbling type siren that was activated for 7-10 seconds at about 6-7 minute intervals throughout the night. The devices were generally suspended about 2 m above the ground and were activated at dusk by a photocell and turned off about 2 hours after dawn by a timer. Here we report tests on high mountain summer sheep ranges (1982-1987), evaluation of the devices by ADC and external cooperators (1987-1990), and efforts to make the devices commercially available. On high mountain summer range, the devices reduced sheep losses on average about 60% with a mean dollar value savings of lambs of over $2,400 per sheep band. In the operational evaluations, 84% of our cooperators indicated that coyote predation on lambs was lowered when devices were used. Manufacture and sale of the device under the name ''Electronic Guard" was begun in 1991 by the ADC Program's Pocatello Supply Depot.