CASL
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22
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Item Comparing Vocal Health and Attitudes to Voice care in Primary Teachers and Voiceover Artists – A Survey Study Using the Health Belief Model(Elsevier, 2023-03-19) Schaeffler, Felix; Parry, Anna M.; Beck, Janet M.; Rees, Meagan; Schaeffler, Sonja; Whittaker, TessObjectives A range of professions experience high demands on their voices and are potentially at risk of developing voice disorders. Teachers have been studied extensively in this respect, while voiceover artists are a growing professional group with unknown levels of voice training, voice problems and voice care attitudes. To better understand profession-specific voice care requirements, we compared voice training, voice care habits and self-reported voice problems of these two professional groups and measured attitudes to voice care, informed by the Health Belief Model (HBM). Study design The study was a cross-sectional survey study with two cohorts. Methods We surveyed 264 Scottish primary school teachers and 96 UK voiceover artists . Responses were obtained with multiple-choice and free-text questions. Attitudes to voice care were assessed with Likert-type questions that addressed five dimensions of the HBM. Results Most voiceover artists had some level of voice training, compared to a minority of teachers. Low numbers of teachers reported regular voice care, compared to over half of voiceover artists. Higher numbers of teachers reported work-related voice problems. Voiceover artists reported greater awareness for vocal health and perceived potential effects of voice problems on their work as more severe. Voiceover artists also saw voice care as more beneficial. Teachers perceived barriers to voice care as substantially higher and felt less confident about voice care. Teachers with existing voice problems showed increased perceptions of voice problem susceptibility and severity and saw more benefit in voice care. Cronbach's alpha was below 0.7 for about half of the HBM-informed survey subsets, suggesting that reliability could be improved. Conclusions Both groups reported substantial levels of voice problems, and different attitudes to voice care suggest that the two groups require different approaches to preventative intervention. Future studies will benefit from the inclusion of further attitude dimensions beyond the HBM.Item Secure account-based data capture with smartphones – preliminary results from a study of articulatory precision in clinical depression(De Gruyter Mouton, 2021-01-20) Miley, Erin; Schaeffler, Felix; Beck, Janet M.; Eichner, Matthias; Jannetts, StephenSmartphone technology is continuously being updated through software and hardware changes. At present, a limited number of studies have been undertaken to assess the impact of these changes on data collection for linguistic research. This paper discusses the potential of smartphones to gather reliable recordings, along with ethical considerations for storing additional personal information when working in other contexts (i.e. healthcare settings). A pilot study was undertaken using the FitvoiceTM account-based application to analyse articulatory proficiency in depressed and healthy participants. Results suggest that phonetic differences exist between these groups in terms of plosive production, and that smartphones are capable of adequately recording these minute aspects of the speech signal for analysis.Item Towards ordinal classification of voice quality features with acoustic parameters(ESSV, 2019-03-09) Schaeffler, Felix; Eichner, Matthias; Beck, Janet M.The human voice is capable of fine-grained variation that results in listener attributions of various psychological, social and biological factors. The complexity of this process is reflected in the number and richness of terms that are used to describe human voices. In this paper we argue that any application that attempts a mapping of the acoustic voice signal onto voice descriptor labels would benefit from an intermediate auditory-phonetic level. As a point of departure we explore the relationships between acoustic parameters and some specific perceptual features derived from Vocal Profile Analysis (VPA), a phonetically motivated voice quality analysis scheme. Perceptual analysis of voice samples from 133 speakers was carried out using VPA for three key phonation features (creakiness, whisperiness, harshness). We extracted eleven acoustic parameters from the samples and used stepwise linear regression to identify acoustic parameters with predictive value. Samples from female speakers were used to derive regression equations which were then used to predict VPA ratings of male voices. Results show significant predictors for all three phonation features and indicate that predictions for the three phonation types rely mainly on different parameters. If a tolerance of ± 1 scalar degree for the perceptual analysis is accepted, then classification accuracy lies at or above 90% for all three phonation features.Item Reliability of clinical voice parameters captured with smartphones – measurements of added noise and spectral tilt(ISCA, 2019-09-20) Schaeffler, Felix; Jannetts, Stephen; Beck, Janet M.Smartphones have become powerful tools for data capture due to their computational power, internet connectivity, high quality sensors and user-friendly interfaces. This also makes them attractive for the recording of voice data that can be analysed for clinical or other voice health purposes. This however requires detailed assessment of the reliability of voice parameters extracted from smartphone recordings. In a previous study we analysed reliability of measures of periodicity and periodicity deviation, with very mixed results across parameters. In the present study we extended this analysis to measures of added noise and spectral tilt. We analysed systematic and random error for six frequently used acoustic parameters in clinical acoustic voice quality analysis. 22 speakers recorded sustained [a] and a short passage with a studio microphone and four popular smartphones simultaneously. Acoustic parameters were extracted with Praat and smartphone recordings were compared to the studio microphone. Results indicate a small systematic error for almost all parameters and smartphones. Random errors differed substantially between parameters. Our results suggest that extraction of acoustic voice parameters with mobile phones is not without problems and different parameters show substantial differences in reliability. Careful individual assessment of parameters is therefore recommended before use in practice.Item Assessing voice health using smartphones: Bias and random error of acoustic voice parameters captured by different smartphone types(Wiley, 2019-02-19) Jannetts, Stephen; Schaeffler, Felix; Beck, Janet M.; Cowen, SteveBACKGROUND: Occupational voice problems constitute a serious public health issue with substantial financial and human consequences for society. Modern mobile technologies like smartphones have the potential to enhance approaches to prevention and management of voice problems. This paper addresses an important aspect of smartphone-assisted voice care: the reliability of smartphone-based acoustic analysis for voice health state monitoring. AIM: To assess the reliability of acoustic parameter extraction for a range of commonly used smartphones by comparison with studio recording equipment. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Twenty-two vocally healthy speakers (12 female; 10 male) were recorded producing sustained vowels and connected speech under studio conditions using a high-quality studio microphone and an array of smartphones. For both types of utterances, Bland-Altman-Analysis was used to assess overall reliability for Mean F0; CPPS; Jitter (RAP) and Shimmer %. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Analysis of the systematic and random error indicated significant bias for CPPS across both sustained vowels and passage reading. Analysis of the random error of the devices indicated that that mean F0 and CPPS showed acceptable random error size, while jitter and shimmer random error was judged as problematic. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Confidence in the feasibility of smartphone-based voice assessment is increased by the experimental finding of high levels of reliability for some clinically relevant acoustic parameters, while the use of other parameters is discouraged. We also challenge the practice of using statistical tests (e.g. t-tests) for measurement reliability assessment.Item InterPHACE - internetworked links for phonetic analysis in clinical education.(1999-04) Beck, Janet M.; Alistair, Lawson; Mennen, InekeThis collaborative project addresses two key issues. The first is the need for Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) students to develop skills in analysis of a wide range of speech disorders and to apply these to clinical practice. The second is the lack of opportunities for utilising instrumental speech analysis techniques in many SALT clinics. Computerised links between Queen Margaret College and a variety of Health Care Trust clinics have been established which allow SALT clinic sessions to be monitored and speech data collection controlled remotely from QMC. Speech data is transmitted to the QMC Speech Laboratory for analysis and compilation of results. QMC staff and students are then able to discuss the results by teleconference with the SALT responsible for each client_s management, thus learning about the impact of analysis results on diagnosis and management. A data-base of clinical speech material is also being developed as a teaching/learning resource. A novel form of curricular design and delivery is thus being developed, which allows college staff and students access to speech from disordered clients in SALT clinics, and allows students to be actively involved in the process of clinical speech analysis of a range of current cases. Evaluation of the educational value of this project is ongoing, but it should enhance both undergraduate education in clinical phonetics and continuing professional development.Item Phonation stabilisation time as an indicator of voice disorder(University of Glasgow: Glasgow, 2015-08-10) Schaeffler, Felix; Beck, Janet M.; Jannetts, StephenThere is increasing emphasis on use of connected speech for acoustic analysis of voice disorder, but the differential impact of disorder on initiation, maintenance and termination of phonation has received little attention. This study introduces a new measure of dynamic changes at onset of phonation during connected speech, phonation stabilisation time (PST), and compares this measure with conventional analysis of sustained vowels. Voice samples obtained from the KayPENTAX Disordered Voice Database were analysed (202 females, 128 males) including 'below threshold' voices where there was a clinical diagnosis but acoustic parameters for sustained vowels were within the normal range. Female disordered voices showed significantly longer PST duration than normal voices, including those in the 'below threshold' group. Overall differences for male voices were also significant. Results suggest that, at least for females, PST measurement from connected speech could provide a more sensitive indicator of disorder than traditional analysis of sustained vowels.Item Voice Quality Variation In Scottish Adolescents: Gender Versus Geography(University of Glasgow: Glasgow, 2015-08-10) Beck, Janet M.; Schaeffler, FelixGiven the importance of voice quality in signalling personal identity and social group membership, effective control of voice features may become especially important during adolescence, yet this has to be achieved in the context of significant physical changes within the speech production system. Most previous research has focussed on phonation, but this study used Vocal Profile Analysis (VPA) [11] for perceptual analysis of both laryngeal and vocal tract voice settings in Scottish adolescents, in order to identify voice quality markers of gender and geographical background in this age group. VPA analysis was carried out for 76 speakers (31 male; 45 female), drawn from three geographically distinct areas of Scotland. Some of the observed variation in voice quality (especially phonatory settings) may be attributable to physical changes associated with puberty, but other setting adjustments seem more likely to be sociophonetic in origin.Item Seeing Speech: an articulatory web resource for the study of phonetics [website](University of Glasgow, 2015-04-01) Lawson, Eleanor; Stuart-Smith, Jane; Scobbie, James M.; Nakai, Satsuki; Beavan, David; Edmonds, Fiona; Edmonds, Iain; Turk, Alice; Timmins, Claire; Beck, Janet M.; Esling, John; Leplatre, Gregory; Cowen, Steve; Barras, Will; Durham, MercedesSeeing Speech (www.seeingspeech.ac.uk) is a web-based audiovisual resource which provides teachers and students of Practical Phonetics with ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI) video of speech, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) video of speech and 2D midsagittal head animations based on MRI and UTI data. The model speakers are Dr Janet Beck of Queen Margaret University (Scotland) and Dr John Esling of University of Victoria (Canada). The first phase of this resource began in July 2011 and was completed in September 2013. Further funding was obtained in 2014 to improve and augment this resource (this version) and to develop its sister site Dynamic Dialects. The website contains two main resources: An introduction to UTI, MRI vocal tract imaging techniques and information about the production of the articulatory animations. Clickable International Phonetic Association charts links to UTI, MRI and animated speech articulator video. This online resource is a product of the collaboration between researchers at six Scottish Universities: The University of Glasgow, Queen Margaret University, Napier University, the University of Strathclyde, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen; as well as scholars from University College London and Cardiff University. For examples of various dialects of English, please go to the sister site http://www.dynamicdialects.ac.ukItem Dynamic Dialects: an articulatory web resource for the study of accents [website](University of Glasgow, 2015-04-01) Lawson, Eleanor; Stuart-Smith, Jane; Scobbie, James M.; Nakai, Satsuki; Beavan, David; Edmonds, Fiona; Edmonds, Iain; Turk, Alice; Timmins, Claire; Beck, Janet M.; Esling, John; Leplatre, Gregory; Cowen, Steve; Barras, Will; Durham, MercedesDynamic Dialects (www.dynamicdialects.ac.uk) is an accent database, containing an articulatory video-based corpus of speech samples from world-wide accents of English. Videos in this corpus contain synchronised audio, ultrasound-tongue-imaging video and video of the moving lips. We are continuing to augment this resource. Dynamic Dialects is the product of a collaboration between researchers at the University of Glasgow, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, University College London and Napier University, Edinburgh. For modelled International Phonetic Association speech samples produced by trained phoneticians, please go to the sister site http://www.SeeingSpeech.ac.uk