CASL
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22
Browse
23 results
Search Results
Item Multidimensional Signals and Analytic Flexibility: Estimating Degrees of Freedom in Human-Speech Analyses(SAGE Publications, 2023-07-20) Coretta, Stefano; Casillas, Joseph V.; Roessig, Simon; Franke, Michael; Ahn, Byron; Al-Hoorie, Ali H.; Al-Tamimi, Jalal; Alotaibi, Najd E.; AlShakhori, Mohammed K.; Altmiller, Ruth M.; Arantes, Pablo; Athanasopoulou, Angeliki; Baese-Berk, Melissa M.; Bailey, George; Sangma, Cheman Baira A; Beier, Eleonora J.; Benavides, Gabriela M.; Benker, Nicole; BensonMeyer, Emelia P.; Benway, Nina R.; Berry, Grant M.; Bing, Liwen; Bjorndahl, Christina; Bolyanatz, Mariška; Braver, Aaron; Brown, Violet A.; Brown, Alicia M.; Brugos, Alejna; Buchanan, Erin M.; Butlin, Tanna; Buxó-Lugo, Andrés; Caillol, Coline; Cangemi, Francesco; Carignan, Christopher; Carraturo, Sita; Caudrelier, Tiphaine; Chodroff, Eleanor; Cohn, Michelle; Cronenberg, Johanna; Crouzet, Olivier; Dagar, Erica L.; Dawson, Charlotte; Diantoro, Carissa A.; Dokovova, Marie; Drake, Shiloh; Du, Fengting; Dubuis, Margaux; Duême, Florent; Durward, Matthew; Egurtzegi, Ander; Elsherif, Mahmoud M.; Esser, Janina; Ferragne, Emmanuel; Ferreira, Fernanda; Fink, Lauren K.; Finley, Sara; Foster, Kurtis; Foulkes, Paul; Franzke, Rosa; Frazer-McKee, Gabriel; Fromont, Robert; García, Christina; Geller, Jason; Grasso, Camille L.; Greca, Pia; Grice, Martine; Grose-Hodge, Magdalena S.; Gully, Amelia J.; Halfacre, Caitlin; Hauser, Ivy; Hay, Jen; Haywood, Robert; Hellmuth, Sam; Hilger, Allison I.; Holliday, Nicole; Hoogland, Damar; Huang, Yaqian; Hughes, Vincent; Icardo Isasa, Ane; Ilchovska, Zlatomira G.; Jeon, Hae-Sung; Jones, Jacq; Junges, Mágat N.; Kaefer, Stephanie; Kaland, Constantijn; Kelley, Matthew C.; Kelly, Niamh E.; Kettig, Thomas; Khattab, Ghada; Koolen, Ruud; Krahmer, Emiel; Krajewska, Dorota; Krug, Andreas; Kumar, Abhilasha A.; Lander, Anna; Lentz, Tomas O.; Li, Wanyin; Li, Yanyu; Lialiou, Maria; Lima, Ronaldo M.; Lo, Justin J. H.; Lopez Otero, Julio Cesar; Mackay, Bradley; MacLeod, Bethany; Mallard, Mel; McConnellogue, Carol-Ann Mary; Moroz, George; Murali, Mridhula; Nalborczyk, Ladislas; Nenadić, Filip; Nieder, Jessica; Nikolić, Dušan; Nogueira, Francisco G. S.; Offerman, Heather M.; Passoni, Elisa; Pélissier, Maud; Perry, Scott J.; Pfiffner, Alexandra M.; Proctor, Michael; Rhodes, Ryan; Rodríguez, Nicole; Roepke, Elizabeth; Röer, Jan P.; Sbacco, Lucia; Scarborough, Rebecca; Schaeffler, Felix; Schleef, Erik; Schmitz, Dominic; Shiryaev, Alexander; Sóskuthy, Márton; Spaniol, Malin; Stanley, Joseph A.; Strickler, Alyssa; Tavano, Alessandro; Tomaschek, Fabian; Tucker, Benjamin V.; Turnbull, Rory; Ugwuanyi, Kingsley O.; Urrestarazu-Porta, Iñigo; van de Vijver, Ruben; Van Engen, Kristin J.; van Miltenburg, Emiel; Wang, Bruce Xiao; Warner, Natasha; Wehrle, Simon; Westerbeek, Hans; Wiener, Seth; Winters, Stephen; Wong, Sidney G.-J.; Wood, Anna; Wottawa, Jane; Xu, Chenzi; Zárate-Sández, Germán; Zellou, Georgia; Zhang, Cong; Zhu, Jian; Roettger, Timo B.Recent empirical studies have highlighted the large degree of analytic flexibility in data analysis that can lead to substantially different conclusions based on the same data set. Thus, researchers have expressed their concerns that these researcher degrees of freedom might facilitate bias and can lead to claims that do not stand the test of time. Even greater flexibility is to be expected in fields in which the primary data lend themselves to a variety of possible operationalizations. The multidimensional, temporally extended nature of speech constitutes an ideal testing ground for assessing the variability in analytic approaches, which derives not only from aspects of statistical modeling but also from decisions regarding the quantification of the measured behavior. In this study, we gave the same speech-production data set to 46 teams of researchers and asked them to answer the same research question, resulting in substantial variability in reported effect sizes and their interpretation. Using Bayesian meta-analytic tools, we further found little to no evidence that the observed variability can be explained by analysts’ prior beliefs, expertise, or the perceived quality of their analyses. In light of this idiosyncratic variability, we recommend that researchers more transparently share details of their analysis, strengthen the link between theoretical construct and quantitative system, and calibrate their (un)certainty in their conclusions.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 Individual Differences in the Discrimination of Novel Speech Sounds: Effects of Sex, Temporal Processing, Musical and Cognitive Abilities(2012-11-05) Kempe, Vera; Thoresen, John C.; Kirk, Neil W.; Schaeffler, Felix; Brooks, Patricia J.This study examined whether rapid temporal auditory processing, verbal working memory capacity, non-verbal intelligence, executive functioning, musical ability and prior foreign language experience predicted how well native English speakers (N = 120) discriminated Norwegian tonal and vowel contrasts as well as a non-speech analogue of the tonal contrast and a native vowel contrast presented over noise. Results confirmed a male advantage for temporal and tonal processing, and also revealed that temporal processing was associated with both non-verbal intelligence and speech processing. In contrast, effects of musical ability on non-native speech-sound processing and of inhibitory control on vowel discrimination were not mediated by temporal processing. These results suggest that individual differences in non-native speech-sound processing are to some extent determined by temporal auditory processing ability, in which males perform better, but are also determined by a host of other abilities that are deployed flexibly depending on the characteristics of the target sounds.Item Cross-language differences in fundamental frequency range: a comparison of English and German(Acoustical Society of America, 2012-03) Mennen, Ineke; Schaeffler, Felix; Docherty, GerardThis paper presents a systematic comparison of various measures of f0 range in female speakers of English and German. F0 range was analysed along two dimensions, level (i.e. overall f0 height) and span (extent of f0 modulation within a given speech sample). These were examined using two types of measures, one based on 'long-term distributional' (LTD) methods, and the other based on specific landmarks in speech that are linguistic in nature ('linguistic' measures). The various methods were used to identify whether and on what basis or bases speakers of these two languages differ in f0 range. Findings yielded significant cross-language differences in both dimensions of f0 range, but effect sizes were found to be larger for span than for level, and for linguistic than for LTD measures. The linguistic measures also uncovered some differences between the two languages in how f0 range varies through an intonation contour. This helps shed light on the relation between intonational structure and f0 range.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 Complex patterns in silent speech preparation: Preparing for fast response might be different to preparing for fast speech in a reaction time experiment(International Phonetic Association, 2015-08-15) Schaeffler, Sonja; Scobbie, James M.; Schaeffler, FelixThis paper presents articulatory data on silent preparation in a standard Verbal Reaction Time experiment. We have reported in a previous study [6] that Reaction Time is reliably detectable in Ultrasound Tongue Imaging and lip video data, and between 120 to 180 ms ahead of the standard acoustics-based measurements. The aim of the current study was to investigate in more detail how silent speech preparation is timed in relation to faster and slower Reaction Times, and faster and slower articulation rates of the verbal response. The results suggest that the standard acoustic-based measurements of Reaction Time may not only routinely underestimate fastness of response but also obscure considerable variation in actual response behaviour. Particularly tokens with fast Reaction Times seem to exhibit substantial variation with respect to when the response is actually initiated, i.e. detectable in the articulatory data.
- «
- 1 (current)
- 2
- 3
- »