William O'Neill (Instructor)
Office: Med. Ctr. 6-8531
E-mail:
Phone: 275-4023
Textbook
Fundamentals of Hearing: An Introduction by William A. Yost (San Diego:
Academic Press, Fifth Edition, 2007). Available at UR Campus Bookstore
Recommended:
Auditory Neuroscience: Making Sense of Sound by Jan Schnupp, Israel Nelken, & Andrew King (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2011). Very well-written and clear book with a unique approach to hearing.
Grading
Grades are based on four exams and one term paper (equally weighted).
Exams: Exams are short answer/essay. Preparation questions will be distributed about one week in advance, and the actual exam will be taken in class (closed-book) from this question set. You are encouraged to work together in answering the questions in preparation for the exams.
Paper: The term paper should be about 5 pages long (double-spaced) and should be based on an analysis of the contemporary primary research literature. The topic should be relevant to the course material, and should be cleared with the instructor in advance; the instructor reserves the right to limit the number of papers dealing with any particular topic. The paper must be your work and in your words. Any material or ideas taken from another source must be properly cited in a style commonly used in scientific journals. Direct quotes are to be avoided. You can get ideas for the paper topic from any source (e.g., the web), but the paper should provide an up-to- date representation of the topic gleaned from original research publications.
Failure to take an examination or hand in the term paper on time will result in a grade of "0" unless a legitimate excuse is presented in writing by email (preferably ahead of time).
Examination grades and the paper are graded on a 0 to 100 scale, not on a curve: an average score of 90 or more at the end of the course will be an A- or better; 80 to 89 B- to B+, 70 to 79 C- to C+, and so forth. Below 60 is a failure (E).
Online Course Material
Lecture materials, practice exam questions, grades, discussion forums, etc. are hosted on Blackboard. You should be enrolled in the on- line course automatically if you pre-registered for the course. If not, please email Dr. O'Neill your BB username to be added. PowerPoint presentations, commentaries, and handouts will be made available for download on BB. You should depend on this resource to obtain all course materials.