Future Voice Research Articles

On the restoration of Shackleton's voice

Shackleton's voice, which attempted to explore Antarctica 100 years ago, was vividly restored with voice-processing technology. The restored voice was used as a restoration criterion after restoring the sound quality to a sound quality by applying noise processing technology to the voice of Shackleton who finished the exploration and gave a speech at a university. The basic voices of the voices are similar to those of family members and relatives because of the similarity of the gene structure and the body structure. Using Shackleton's great-grandson voices, he restored Shackleton's voice by adjusting the rate of speech, intensity, intonation, duration, tone changes, and tone averages as analyzed in Shackleton's voice. The subjective evaluation of the restored voice showed a similarity of more than 90% in the spectral SNR compared to the original voice, and when MOS evaluation was performed by the linguistic expert, 4.5 / 5 was obtained and the restoration of the voice of Shackleton was successful respectively. It is expected that the restoration technology of the deceased using the relative of relatives can restore the message of love and encouragement to the family in their future voice to the descendants.

Transmasculine People's Voice Function: A Review of the Currently Available Evidence

This study aims to evaluate the currently available discursive and empirical data relating to those aspects of transmasculine people's vocal situations that are not primarily gender-related, to identify restrictions to voice function that have been observed in this population, and to make suggestions for future voice research and clinical practice. We conducted a comprehensive review of the voice literature. Publications were identified by searching six electronic databases and bibliographies of relevant articles. Twenty-two publications met inclusion criteria. Discourses and empirical data were analyzed for factors and practices that impact on voice function and for indications of voice function-related problems in transmasculine people. The quality of the evidence was appraised. The extent and quality of studies investigating transmasculine people's voice function was found to be limited. There was mixed evidence to suggest that transmasculine people might experience restrictions to a range of domains of voice function, including vocal power, vocal control/stability, glottal function, pitch range/variability, vocal endurance, and voice quality. More research into the different factors and practices affecting transmasculine people's voice function that takes account of a range of parameters of voice function and considers participants' self-evaluations is needed to establish how functional voice production can be best supported in this population.

Sintomas vocais de futuros profissionais da voz

OBJETIVO: caracterizar os sintomas vocais de futuros profissionais da voz conforme as variáveis idade, sexo e índice de massa corporal. MÉTODOS: os participantes responderam a Escala de Sintomas Vocais, composta por 30 questões, sendo 15 do domínio limitação, oito do domínio emocional e sete do domínio físico. Os indivíduos foram orientados a assinalar a resposta que correspondesse à frequência de ocorrência para cada um dos sintomas questionados. Foram coletados também dados ocupacionais, antropométricos e de saúde geral.Os dados foram analisados descritivamente e estatisticamente por meio dos testes não paramétricos Correlação de Spearman, Mann Whitney e Kruskal-Wallis, com nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: a amostra constituiu-se de 47 indivíduos, com idades entre 19 e 37 anos (média de 22,17 anos), sendo 28 (59,57%) do sexo feminino e 19 (40,43%) do sexo masculino,a média foi de 11,38 problemas vocais, de uma possibilidade total de 30. Houve maior frequência dos sintomas "você tosse ou pigarreia" e "você tem dificuldade para falar em locais barulhentos". CONCLUSÃO: o grupo de futuros profissionais da voz analisado apresentou alta média de sintomas vocais, salientando-se a tosse ou pigarro e a dificuldade para falar em locais barulhentos, diretamente relacionados a usos vocais incorretos. Com o aumento da demanda vocal profissional esses indivíduos poderão ser considerados de risco para o desenvolvimento de distúrbios vocais.

Transmasculine people's vocal situations: a critical review of gender-related discourses and empirical data.

Transmasculine people assigned female sex at birth but who do not identify with this classification have traditionally received little consideration in the voice literature. Some voice researchers and clinicians suggest that transmasculine people do not need attention because testosterone treatment leads to a satisfactory masculinization of their voice organs and voices. Others, however, argue that transmasculine people are a heterogeneous group whose members might not share the same body type, gender identity or desire for medical approaches to gender transitioning. Therefore, testosterone-induced voice changes may not necessarily meet the needs and expectations of all transmasculine people. To evaluate the gender-related discursive and empirical data about transmasculine people's vocal situations to identify gaps in the current state of knowledge and to make suggestions for future voice research and clinical practice. A comprehensive review of peer-reviewed academic and clinical literature was conducted. Publications were identified by searching seven electronic databases and bibliographies of relevant articles. Thirty-one publications met inclusion criteria. Discourses and empirical data were analysed thematically. Potential problem areas that transmasculine people may experience were identified and the quality of evidence appraised. The extent and quality of voice research conducted with transmasculine people so far was found to be limited. There was mixed evidence to suggest that transmasculine people's vocal situations could be regarded as problematic. The diversity that characterizes the transmasculine population received little attention and the complexity of the factors that contribute to a successful or unsuccessful vocal communication of gender in this group appeared to be under-researched. While most transmasculine people treated with testosterone can expect a lowering of their pitch, it remains unclear whether the extent of the pitch change is enough to result in a voice that is recognized by others as male. More research into the different factors affecting transmasculine people's vocal situations that takes account of the diversity within the population is needed.

Fluxo aéreo adaptado e coeficientes fônicos de futuros profissionais da voz

Objetivo verificar e correlacionar o fluxo aéreo adaptado (FAA), coeficiente fônico simples (CFS) e coeficiente fônico composto (CFC) de adultos jovens de ambos os sexos, sem alterações vocais, futuros profissionais da voz, e verificar a frequência dos sexos. Métodos 62 sujeitos entre 18 e 35 anos (12 homens, média 24,25 anos e 50 mulheres, média 21,42 anos); avaliação vocal pela escala RASATI com coeficiente de confiabilidade Kappa; coleta dos tempos máximos de fonação (TMF) de /a,i,u,s,z/, contagem de números, capacidade vital e FAA; cálculo dos CFS e CFC; teste de Spearmann para as correlações entre as variáveis e teste binomial para proporções de valores normais, diminuídos e aumentados. Resultados a maioria significante feminina apresentou CFS e CFC normais, e FAA normal e aumentado, em comparação aos valores diminuídos. A maioria significante masculina apresentou CFS normal e aumentado, em comparação aos valores diminuídos; CFC normal e FAA sem diferença estatisticamente significante. Houve correlação positiva moderada entre o CFS e o CFC para ambos os sexos. Conclusão a maioria significante dos futuros profissionais da voz estudados apresentou CFS e CFC normais e com correlação positiva moderada. A maioria significante feminina obteve resultados de FAA normais e aumentados, em comparação aos valores diminuídos, e o FAA não apresentou correlação com CFS e CFC. A maioria significante do grupo de futuros profissionais da voz foi composta por mulheres.

From web-based readers to voice bloggers: EFL learners’ perspectives

With the advancement of such Web 2.0 applications as weblogs, language learners have more opportunities to use a target language for communication purposes and to experience peer collaboration and interaction. In the search for ways to augment an EFL curriculum in which speaking practice is limited but the demand for improving oral proficiencies is high, this study explored the use of voice blogging to develop communication skills, analyzed the stages of students’ blogging efforts, and investigated students’ perceptions of this authentic language experience. Seventy-four intermediate EFL learners from two Freshman English classes at a national university in Taiwan participated in this study. During the semester-long experiment, students read online materials and used an instructional blogging site constructed by the teacher-researcher to post voice blog entries and comment on peers’ blog posts. The recursive four stages of their blogging efforts were: reading to learn, planning and organizing, speaking, and sharing. In a post-task survey and in semi-structured interviews, students said they felt that the process of producing voice blog entries facilitated language learning, enhanced knowledge construction, and promoted social networking. Students also offered suggestions for ways to improve the project, such as teaching more online search skills, providing better online recording mechanisms, and setting up a combination of face-to-face and online interactions. This study's findings and suggestions for future voice blogging projects can serve as a template for integrating voice blogging into the EFL curriculum.

Establishment of a Normative Pediatric Acoustic Database

OBJECTIVES To establish a normative pediatric acoustic database and to analyze the acoustic characteristics of the age groups studied. DESIGN Prospective gathering of acoustic parameters on healthy children aged 4 to 18 years. SETTING An outpatient pediatric otolaryngology clinic. PATIENTS A total of 335 children (165 girls and 170 boys) were evaluated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Normative values were obtained for the acoustic parameters studied. RESULTS Discrete fundamental frequency changes occurred at ages 11 and 14 years in girls and ages 12 and 16 years in boys. Values for jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, and noise to harmonic ratio fell within the normative thresholds of adult values. CONCLUSIONS This is the largest pediatric computerized voice analysis database in the English language. This database has been designed to develop an age- and sex-based growth chart to track the developing pediatric voice as it changes with maturation. A distinct vocal profile of girls and boys is evident, with key changes noted at critical periods of development and with significant differences among fundamental frequency between and within sexes. A comprehensive database can be used to help aid future voice therapy and phonosurgical strategies and provide the foundation for future studies into the development of the pediatric voice as it matures into adulthood.

A decision model for setting target levels in software quality function deployment to respond to rapidly changing customer needs

Responding to the need for enhanced software quality, software manufacturers have recently applied quality improvement techniques to software development process. Software quality function deployment, as a technique for better quality designs that match customer expectations, has been used in software development to maximize customer satisfaction. This article proposes a fuzzy regression-based decision framework that considers future requirements for setting target levels of technical attributes in software quality function deployment. Ordered weighted averaging operators are employed to implement quantifier-guided aggregations that enable to calculate the integrated importance degree for each customer need by combining the current and future voice of customers. Then, a fuzzy optimization model, which considers the integrated importance degrees of customer needs and uses the functional relationships obtained by fuzzy regression, is developed to determine target levels of technical attributes of the new or improved software products that meet customer needs at the time when the product reaches the market. The fuzzy optimization model includes both the center values and the spread values of the parameter estimates and thus circumvents loss of information in determining target levels of technical attributes. A search engine quality improvement problem is presented to illustrate the proposed decision framework.

Prioritizing quality characteristics in dynamic quality function deployment

Due to the combination of rapid influx of new technology, high pressure on time-to-market and increasing globalization, the number of products that have highly uncertain and dynamic specifications or customer requirements might significantly increase. In order to deal with these inherently volatile products or services, we need to adopt a more pro-active approach in order not to produce an unwanted product or service. Thus, based on the idea of the quality loss function and the zero-one goal programming, an intuitively simple mathematical model is developed to prioritize the quality characteristics (QCs) in the dynamic quality function deployment (QFD). It incorporates a pro-active approach towards providing products and services that meet the future voice of the customer (FVOC). The aim is to determine and prioritize only the ‘important’ QCs with a greater confidence in meeting the FVOC. It is particularly useful when the number of the potentially dominant QCs is very large so that, by using the prioritization, the size of the QFD can be effectively reduced. Some constraints, such as minimum customer satisfaction level and limitation on budget are also taken into consideration. A sensitivity analysis is suggested to give an insight to the QFD users in the change of parameters of the proposed model.

The future nursing voice.

Based on some articles in the journal Nursing Ethics, the author outlines some of the areas of major importance for nursing in the future. These areas--the care of elderly people, long-term home-based care, genetics, international research and conflict and war--demand a new voice of nursing, which is a political voice. The rationale for a political voice is the ICN Code of ethics for nurses and the fourfold responsibilities laid on nurses: to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health, and to alleviate suffering. Some indications are given on how nurses can engage in political work.

Vocal hygiene in radio students and in radio professionals

In this study 27 future professional voice users (i.e., radio students) and 53 professional voice users (i.e., radio professionals) were questioned on their vocal hygiene. Both groups differed clearly in age and in radio experience. The mean age of the radio students was 22 years, whereas the mean age of the radio professionals was 41 years; radio students had no radio experience and radio professionals' experience ranged from 2 to 32 years. This study shows that the vocal hygiene of radio professionals is not superior to the vocal hygiene of radio students. On the contrary, every group has a distinctive vocal hygiene profile. The intake of coffee was significantly higher in radio professionals ( p <0.001) and they indicated significantly more vocal fatigue ( p =0.028). The radio students, on the other hand, experienced more acid reflux problems ( p <0.001) and signalled significantly more hoarseness ( p =0.012). Next to this, both groups smoked more than one could expect from (future) professional voice users (radio students: 33%; radio professionals: 28%). This study demonstrates the necessity of an adapted vocal hygiene education programme for both future and professional voice users, as they seem to underestimate the negative implications of bad vocal hygiene.

Downsizing of Voice Prosthesis Diameter in Patients With Laryngectomy

In patients with laryngectomy, voice prostheses inserted into a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) are widely used for vocal rehabilitation. Gradual dilation of the TEF may cause bothersome leakage around voice prostheses. Prosthesis-related weight and mechanical trauma possibly exacerbate TEF dilation. If prosthesis size were to be decreased, with a concomitant decrease in prosthesis weight and diameter, dilation of the TEF would probably lessen. We performed in vitro tests to study the effects on aerodynamic prosthesis function when the prosthesis size-in particular, the inner diameter-was decreased. The effects on airflow and pressure were specifically studied in the airflow range of patients with laryngectomy. A 1-mm decrease of the regular inner prosthesis diameter from 5 mm to 4 mm showed no significant aerodynamic consequences at the average laryngectomized airflow point. Also, such a 1-mm decrease in diameter involved a prosthesis weight reduction of 18%. In view of these findings, downsizing the standard prosthetic diameter should be considered in future voice prosthesis development.

Democratization and bureaucratic dominance in Hong Kong: Perspectives from a short-lived university students' movement

“Democracy” and “democratization” are among the most widely invoked terms of the post-cold war era. Their meanings are debatable, however, despite Western insistence on narrowly defining democracy in terms of specific political freedoms and rights. It thus remains useful to examine democratization concretely, as an evolving set of practices, mediated by culture, history, and place. Accordingly, this paper presents an account of the struggles over democratic practice that took place on Hong Kong university campuses beginning in the transitional mid-1990s, on the eve of the hand-over of the former British colony to China. The author argues that the activist students' attempts to launch a public dialogue about the level of political representation available to them reflected wider societal concerns about Hong Kong's future autonomy and local people's political voice. At the heart of the students' critique was the conviction that the representative democracy practiced on campuses in Hong Kong was a form of bureaucratic dominance whose aim was to depoliticize the universities through the micromanagement of dissent.

Acoustic parameters for the evaluation of voice of future voice professionals.

The authors tried to establish quantitative and qualitative acoustic parameters of a good voice, suitable for future voice professionals. In their work they used long-time average spectrum analysis (LTAS) and three-dimensional analysis of periodicity (3D-PAN). They consider the regression straight line of formant regions and the parameters offered by 3D-PAN--jitter first of all--as the main acoustic parameters for the evaluation of voice quality and draw attention to the fact that acoustic parameters represent only one part of the evaluation of voice quality.

Straight Talk on Digital Communications

The trend toward all-digital telecommunications networks promises more adaptable and reliable communications. This article explains the evolution of digital communications and describes what the MIS manager can expect from future voice and data networks.