Comparing Reliability of Perceptual Ratings of Roughness and Acoustic Measures of Jitter

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Rose Rabinov ◽  
Jody Kreiman ◽  
Bruce R. Gerratt ◽  
Steven Bielamowicz
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
Voice Analysis ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Essentially Normal ◽  
Visual Analog Scale Rating ◽  
Automatic Systems ◽  
Better Than

Acoustic analysis is often favored over perceptual evaluation of voice because it is considered objective, and thus reliable. However, recent studies suggest this traditional bias is unwarranted. This study examined the relative reliability of human listeners and automatic systems for measuring perturbation in the evaluation of pathologic voices. Ten experienced listeners rated the roughness of 50 voice samples (ranging from normal to severely disordered) on a 75 mm visual analog scale. Rating reliability within and across listeners was compared to the reliability of jitter measures produced by several voice analysis systems (CSpeech, SoundScope, CSL, and an interactive hand-marking system). Results showed that overall listeners agreed as well or better than “objective” algorithms. Further, listeners disagreed in predictable ways, whereas automatic algorithms differed in seemingly random fashions. Finally, listener reliability increased with severity of pathology; objective methods quickly broke down as severity increased. These findings suggest that listeners and analysis packages differ greatly in their measurement characteristics. Acoustic measures may have advantages over perceptual measures for discriminating among essentially normal voices; however, reliability is not a good reason for preferring acoustic measures of perturbation to perceptual measures.

Measuring Vocal Fatigue in Sports Coaches

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Kathy Connaughton ◽  
Irena Yanushevskaya
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Professional Sports ◽  
Muscle Adaptation ◽  
Voice Change ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Coaching Session ◽  
Sports Coaches ◽  
Voice Use

Objective: This study explores the immediate impact of prolonged voice use by professional sports coaches. Method: Speech samples including sustained phonation of vowel /a/ and a short read passage were collected from two professional sports coaches. The audio recordings were made within an hour before and after a coaching session, over three sessions. Perceptual evaluation of voice quality was done using the GRBAS scale. The speech samples were subsequently analyzed using Praat. The acoustic measures included fundamental frequency (f0), jitter, shimmer, Harmonics-to-Noise ratio and Cepstral Peak Prominence. Main results: The results of perceptual and acoustic analysis suggest a slight shift towards a tenser phonation post-coaching session, which is a likely consequence of laryngeal muscle adaptation to prolonged voice use. This tendency was similar in sustained vowels and connected speech. Conclusion: Acoustic measures used in this study can be useful to capture the voice change post-coaching session. It is desirable, however, that more sophisticated and robust and at the same time intuitive and easy-to-use tools for voice assessment and monitoring be made available to clinicians and professional voice users.

scholarly journals Objective and subjective analysis of women's voice with idiopathic Parkinson's disease

2012 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 492-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riviana Rodrigues das Graças ◽  
Ana Cristina Côrtes Gama ◽  
Francisco Eduardo Costa Cardoso ◽  
Bárbara Pereira Lopes ◽  
Iara Barreto Bassi
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Idiopathic Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Subjective Analysis ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

OBJECTIVE: To compare the voice quality of women with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and those without it. METHODS: An evaluation was performed including 19 female patients diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, with an average age of 66 years, and 27 women with an average of 67 years-old in the Control Group. The assessment was performed by computed acoustic analysis and perceptual evaluation. RESULTS: Parkinson's disease patients presented moderate rough and unstable voice quality. The parameters of grade, roughness, and instability had higher scores in Parkinson's disease patients with statistically significant differences. Acoustic measures of Jitter and period perturbation quotient (PPQ) significantly differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Parkinson's disease female individuals showed more vocal alterations compared to the Control Group, when both perceptual and acoustic evaluations were analyzed.

scholarly journals A phonetic study of Zootopia characters’ voices in Brazilian Portuguese dubbing: the role of stereotypes

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Crochiquia ◽  
Anders Eriksson ◽  
Mario A. S. Fontes ◽  
Sandra Madureira
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Multiple Factor Analysis ◽  
Psychological Traits ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Qualitative Variables

ABSTRACT This work comprises an experimental investigation approach of expressive speech that integrates methodological procedures of perceptual and acoustic analyses. As the object of this work, we have focused on voice quality and vocal dynamics. Speech samples from the four main personality-distinct characters in the animated feature film “Zootopia” dubbed by Brazilian voice actors have been analysed. Due to the expressive function of voice quality, we have posed the following question: what types of voice quality and vocal dynamics settings were used by the voice actors in the Brazilian dubbing of “Zootopia” to compose the vocal profiles of the characters? Perceptual evaluation of the 54 speech stimuli was performed using the Vocal Profile Analysis protocol (Laver & Mackenzie Beck, 2007). Acoustic measures were automatically extracted using the ExpressionEvaluator script (Barbosa, 2008) for PRAAT. The profiles for each of the four characters were composed based on the psychological traits described in the film script. The results of the acoustic analysis, the perceptual analysis of voice quality and vocal dynamics settings were correlated using the MFA (Multiple Factor Analysis) method in the R environment based on 40 variables (quantitative and qualitative) and it turned out that the speech stimuli were distributed in 6 clusters according to the variables analysed. The quantitative variables that presented the highest correlation percentage were: Standard Deviation of f0 Derivative, Standard Deviation of Spectral Tilt, f0 Median. The qualitative variables that presented the highest correlation percentage were: Lowered Larynx, Lip Rounding, Breathy Voice and Minimised Pitch Range. The research has presented evidence in favor of the symbolic use of phonic matter and contributions to the understanding of how vocal stereotypes are established.

Effects of a 6-Week Straw Phonation in Water Exercise Program on the Aging Voice

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1018-1032
Author(s):  
Chia-Hsin Wu ◽  
Roger W. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Aging Voice ◽  
Before And After

Purpose Semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises with tubes or straws have been widely used for a variety of voice disorders. Yet, the effects of longer periods of SOVT exercises (lasting for weeks) on the aging voice are not well understood. This study investigated the effects of a 6-week straw phonation in water (SPW) exercise program. Method Thirty-seven elderly subjects with self-perceived voice problems were assigned into two groups: (a) SPW exercises with six weekly sessions and home practice (experimental group) and (b) vocal hygiene education (control group). Before and after intervention (2 weeks after the completion of the exercise program), acoustic analysis, auditory–perceptual evaluation, and self-assessment of vocal impairment were conducted. Results Analysis of covariance revealed significant differences between the two groups in smoothed cepstral peak prominence measures, harmonics-to-noise ratio, the auditory–perceptual parameter of breathiness, and Voice Handicap Index-10 scores postintervention. No significant differences between the two groups were found for other measures. Conclusions Our results supported the positive effects of SOVT exercises for the aging voice, with a 6-week SPW exercise program being a clinical option. Future studies should involve long-term follow-up and additional outcome measures to better understand the efficacy of SOVT exercises, particularly SPW exercises, for the aging voice.

Burst Spinal Cord Stimulation

Neurosurgery ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 986-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk De Ridder ◽  
Sven Vanneste ◽  
Mark Plazier ◽  
Elsa van der Loo ◽  
Tomas Menovsky
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Neuropathic Pain ◽  
Visual Analog Scale ◽  
Spinal Cord Stimulation ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Burst Stimulation ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
Tonic Stimulation ◽  
Better Than

Abstract INTRODUCTION Spinal cord stimulation is commonly used for neuropathic pain modulation. The major side effect is the onset of paresthesia. The authors describe a new stimulation design that suppresses pain as well as, or even better than, the currently used stimulation, but without creating paresthesia. METHODS A spinal cord electrode (Lamitrode) for neuropathic pain was implanted in 12 patients via laminectomy: 4 at the C2 level and 7 at the T8–T9 level for cervicobrachialgia and lumboischialgia, respectively (1 at T11 at another center). During external stimulation, the patients received the classic tonic stimulation (40 or 50 Hz) and the new burst stimulation (40-Hz burst with 5 spikes at 500 Hz per burst). RESULTS Pain scores were measured using a visual analog scale and the McGill Short Form preoperatively and during tonic and burst stimulation. Paresthesia was scored as present or not present. Burst stimulation was significantly better for pain suppression, by both the visual analog scale score and the McGill Short Form score. Paresthesia was present in 92% of patients during tonic stimulation, and in only 17% during burst stimulation. Average follow-up was 20.5 months. CONCLUSION The authors present a new method of spinal cord stimulation using bursts that suppress neuropathic pain without the mandatory paresthesia. Pain suppression seems as good as or potentially better than that achieved with the currently used stimulation. Average follow-up after nearly 2 years (20.5 months) suggests that this stimulation design is stable.

Metrical Analysis of the Speech of Children With Suspected Developmental Apraxia of Speech

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1444-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley L. Velleman ◽  
Lawrence D. Shriberg
Keyword(s):  
Differential Diagnosis ◽  
Diagnostic Marker ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Speech Delay ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Metrical Phonology ◽  
Developmental Apraxia ◽  
Metrical Analysis ◽  
Better Than

Previous studies have shown that metrical analysis accounts for syllable omissions in young normally developing children better than prior perspectives. This approach has not yet been applied to children with disorders. Inappropriate sentential stress has been proposed as a diagnostic marker for a subgroup of children with suspected developmental apraxia of speech (SD-DAS), suggesting that the application of metrical perspectives to this population may be appropriate. This report extends the goal of identifying diagnostic markers for SD-DAS using analytic procedures from metrical phonology. The lexical metrical patterns of children with SD-DAS were compared to those of a group of children with speech delay (SD) to verify the applicability of metrical constructs to children with disorders while at the same time seeking lexical stress characteristics that might be useful for differential diagnosis. The lexical stress errors of children in both the SD and SD-DAS disorder groups were found to conform to patterns identified in metrical studies of younger normally developing children, confirming the applicability of this approach to children with disorders. Lexical metrical patterns did not differentiate the groups from each other. However, syllable omissions persisted to much later ages in the SD-DAS subjects, especially those children previously identified as having inappropriate phrasal stress. Further metrical studies of the speech of children with suspected SD-DAS are needed, both at the lexical and the sentential level, using both perceptual and acoustic measures.

scholarly journals Common Terminology and Acoustic Measures for Human Voice and Birdsong

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Areen Badwal ◽  
JoHanna Poertner ◽  
Robin A. Samlan ◽  
Julie E. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Production ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
Song Analysis ◽  
Core Set ◽  
Standard Terminology ◽  
Cepstral Peak Prominence ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Similarities And Differences

Purpose The zebra finch is used as a model to study the neural circuitry of auditory-guided human vocal production. The terminology of birdsong production and acoustic analysis, however, differs from human voice production, making it difficult for voice researchers of either species to navigate the literature from the other. The purpose of this research note is to identify common terminology and measures to better compare information across species. Method Terminology used in the birdsong literature will be mapped onto terminology used in the human voice production literature. Measures typically used to quantify the percepts of pitch, loudness, and quality will be described. Measures common to the literature in both species will be made from the songs of 3 middle-age birds using Praat and Song Analysis Pro. Two measures, cepstral peak prominence (CPP) and Wiener entropy (WE), will be compared to determine if they provide similar information. Results Similarities and differences in terminology and acoustic analyses are presented. A core set of measures including frequency, frequency variability within a syllable, intensity, CPP, and WE are proposed for future studies. CPP and WE are related yet provide unique information about the syllable structure. Conclusions Using a core set of measures familiar to both human voice and birdsong researchers, along with both CPP and WE, will allow characterization of similarities and differences among birds. Standard terminology and measures will improve accessibility of the birdsong literature to human voice researchers and vice versa. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7438964

Acoustic Analysis of Voice in Singers: A Systematic Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhanshree R. Gunjawate ◽  
Rohit Ravi ◽  
Rajashekhar Bellur
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Sound Studies ◽  
Singing Voice ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
Acoustic Evaluation

Purpose Singers are vocal athletes having specific demands from their voice and require special consideration during voice evaluation. Presently, there is a lack of standards for acoustic evaluation in them. The aim of the present study was to systematically review the available literature on the acoustic analysis of voice in singers. Method A systematic review of studies on acoustic analysis of voice in singers (PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, ProQuest, Cochrane, Ovid, Science Direct, and Shodhganga) was carried out. Key words based on PIO (population–investigation–outcome) were used to develop search strings. Titles and abstracts were screened independently, and appropriate studies were read in full for data extraction. Results Of the 895 studies, 26 studies met the inclusion criteria. Great variability was noted in the instruments and task used. Different acoustic measures were employed, such as fundamental frequency, perturbation, cepstral, spectral, dysphonia severity index, singing power ratio, and so forth. Conclusion Overall, a great heterogeneity was noted regarding population, tasks, instruments, and parameters. There is a lack of standardized criteria for the evaluation of singing voice. In order to implement acoustic analysis as a part of comprehensive voice evaluation exclusively for singers, there is a certain need for methodical sound studies.

The Sage of Königsberg

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-33
Author(s):  
Immanuel Kant
Keyword(s):  
Good Reason ◽  
Moral Life ◽  
Moral Law ◽  
Moral Argument ◽  
Rational Commitment ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Power And Authority

Better than anyone, Kant recognized the power and authority of the moral law. On that foundation he constructed two variants of the moral argument. His argument from grace pertains to whether or not the moral life is possible. Morality requires us to achieve a stand too demanding to meet on our own. Divine assistance is needed to close the resulting gap. So rationality dictates that we postulate God’s existence. Kant’s argument from providence pertains to the aforementioned rational need for happiness and virtue to cohere. Full rational commitment to morality requires that morality is a rationally stable enterprise, which entails the ultimate correspondence between virtue and (both individual and corporate) fulfillment. Without God’s existence there’s no particularly good reason to think such correspondence obtains. So rationality dictates the postulation of God’s existence.

Perceptual Evaluation and Acoustic Analysis of Pneumatic Artificial Larynx

2009 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
pp. 776-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Jie Xu ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Mei Ping Lu ◽  
Ming Zhe Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Artificial Larynx
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