The acoustic bases of human voice identity processing in dogs

Animal Cognition - Speech carries identity-diagnostic acoustic cues that help individuals recognize each other during vocal–social interactions. In humans, fundamental frequency, formant...     

Correlations between speakers' body size and acoustic parameters of voice

Generally, there is a significant relationship between some acoustic measures (F0 and formant parameters) and the body size of speakers; however, data become less clear when age and sex variables are controlled. To date, no other vocal parameter apart from F0 has been studied in relation to body size. In the present study, correlations between a set of 27 parameters of the Multi-dimensional Voice Program (Kay Elemetrics Corp.) and 4 body measures were obtained from 134 speakers of both sexes belonging to one age group (20-29 years). Correlations within sex groups were null or very weak, and all significant coefficients were below .35.     

Fatigue estimation using voice analysis

In the present article, we present a means to remotely and transparently estimate an individual's level of fatigue by quantifying changes in his or her voice characteristics. Using Voice analysis to estimate fatigue is unique from established cognitive measures in a number of ways: (1) speaking is a natural activity requiring no initial training or learning curve, (2) voice recording is a unobtrusive operation allowing the speakers to go about their normal work activities, (3) using telecommunication infrastructure (radio, telephone, etc.) a diffuse set of remote populations can be monitored at a central location, and (4) often, previously recorded voice data are available for post hoc analysis. By quantifying changes in the mathematical coefficients that describe the human speech production process, we were able to demonstrate that for speech sounds requiring a large average air flow, a speaker's voice changes in synchrony with both direct measures of fatigue and with changes predicted by the length of time awake.     

An analysis of programming DRL schedules in educational settings

Three methods for programming the differential reinforcement of low rate were explained, labeled, illustrated by research studies, and analyzed, but not compared. Spaced Responding DRL, the first and most common method in laboratory studies, was illustrated through the reduction of the inappropriate questioning by three behaviorally disturbed children. Full Session DRL, the most common method in applied studies, was illustrated through the reduction of talk-outs by an EMR male. Interval DRL, not previously presented in either applied or laboratory literature, was illustrated through the reduction of talk-outs by a 6-yr-old first grade girl. All methods proved effective, and an analysis of their differences and similarities was discussed.     

Storage-retrieval analysis of acoustic similarity

A statistical procedure that separates storage from retrieval was used to study the acoustic similarity effect as a function of retention interval in the Brown-Peterson paradigm. Both storage and retrieval components showed reliable and independent changes with retention interval, but only the storage component was affected by acoustic similarity. Hence, acoustic similarity affects trace durability and retrieval plays no essential role in the similarity effect. This finding is inconsistent with the address hypothesis (cf. Baddeley, 1968). It is argued that acoustic similarity induces subjects to encode the target item in a confused fashion, particularly in regard to order information.     

A brief scoring method for voice stress analysis

The Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE) detects inaudible frequency changes in the human voice, and it is claimed that the pattern of these changes can provide a measure of psychophysiological arousal. A few studies have given some support to this hypothesis, but further clarifica tion is needed. One major technical problem in this research is that the traditional scoring esyStem is unreliable unless considerable numbers of scores are taken and averaged , The paper presents a conveniently brief scoring system which has fair reliahility, and which correlates significantly with a measure of Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold.     

Integrated software for analysis and synthesis of voice quality

Voice quality is an important perceptual cue in many disciplines, but knowledge of its nature is limited by a poor understanding of the relevant psychoacoustics. This article (aimed at researchers studying voice, speech, and vocal behavior) describes the UCLA voice synthesizer, software for voice analysis and synthesis designed to test hypotheses about the relationship between acoustic parameters and voice quality perception. The synthesizer provides experimenters with a useful tool for creating and modeling voice signals. In particular, it offers an integrated approach to voice analysis and synthesis and allows easy, precise, spectral-domain manipulations of the harmonic voice source. The synthesizer operates in near real time, using a parsimonious set of acoustic parameters for the voice source and vocal tract that a user can modify to accurately copy the quality of most normal and pathological voices. The software, user’s manual, and audio files may be downloaded from http:// brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental. Future updates may be downloaded from www.surgery .medsch.ucla.edu/glottalaffairs/.     

Comparing functional analysis and paired-choice assessment results in classroom settings

The results of a functional analysis of problem behavior and a paired-choice assessment were compared to determine whether the same social reinforcers were identified for problem behavior and an appropriate response (time allocation). The two assessments were conducted in classroom settings with 4 adolescents with mental retardation who engaged in severe problem behavior. Each student's classroom teacher served as the therapist for all phases of assessment. The two assessment procedures identified the same social reinforcers for problem and appropriate behavior for 3 of 4 participants.     

on the acoustic analysis of primate vocalizations

The acoustic theory of speech production relates articulatory maneuvers to acoustic attributes of speech. Some procedures are discussed that make use of this theory to analyze the vocalizations of nonhuman primates. These procedures make use of sound spectrograms, oscillograms, and computer-implemented analogs of the primate vocal apparatus as well as anatomical measurements. The use of these techniques in recent studies of nonhuman primate vocalizations is reviewed. These studies show that nonhuman primates lack the anatomical apparatus that is necessary for the production of the full range of human speech. Some unresolved questions concerning the structure of nonhuman primate utterances are discussed with regard to human linguistic ability.     

Response deprivation and reinforcement in applied settings: A preliminary analysis

First-grade children engaged in seatwork behaviors under reinforcement schedules established according to the Premack Principle and the Response Deprivation Hypothesis. Across two experiments, schedules were presented to the children in a counter-balanced fashion which fulfilled the conditions of one, both, or neither of the hypotheses. Duration of on-task math and coloring in Experiment 1 and on-task math and reading in Experiment 2 were the dependent variables. A modified ABA-type withdrawal design, including a condition to control for the noncontingent effects of a schedule, indicated an increase of on-task instrumental responding only in those schedules where the condition of response deprivation was present but not where it was absent, regardless of the probability differential between the instrumental and contingent responses. These results were consistent with laboratory findings supporting the necessity of response deprivation for producing the reinforcement effect in single response, instrumental schedules. However, the results of the control procedure were equivocal so the contribution of the contingent relationship between the responses to the increases in instrumental behavior could not be determined. Nevertheless, these results provided tentative support for the Response Deprivation Hypothesis as a new approach to establishing reinforcement schedules while indicating the need for further research in this area. The possible advantages of this technique for applied use were identified and discussed.     

Feigned depression and feigned sleepiness: a voice acoustical analysis

We sought to profile the voice acoustical correlates of simulated, or feigned depression by neurologically and psychiatrically healthy control subjects. We also sought to identify the voice acoustical correlates of feigned sleepiness for these same subjects. Twenty-two participants were asked to speak freely about a cartoon, to count from 1 to 10, and to sustain an "a" sound for approximately 5s. These exercises were completed three times (within the same testing session) with three differing sets of instructions to the participants. These three conditions were presented in pseudo-random order to control for any order effects, and all subjects were na?ve to the intended purpose of this study. For all three conditions, mean speaking rates and pitch ranges were calculated. A series of paired t tests showed significant differences in the speaking rates (counting numbers and free-speech exercises) between the 'normal' and feigned sleepy conditions, and between the normal and feigned depression conditions, but not between the 'sleepy' and 'depressed' conditions. The results for pitch range, for all speech exercises, were not different between the normal and either the feigned depression or feigned sleepiness conditions. These results indicate that persons feigning depression and sleepiness demonstrate some level of conscious control of their speech rate, but they did not convincingly alter their pitch ranges while feigning depression or sleepiness.     

Thinking the voice: neural correlates of voice perception

The human voice is the carrier of speech, but also an "auditory face" that conveys important affective and identity information. Little is known about the neural bases of our abilities to perceive such paralinguistic information in voice. Results from recent neuroimaging studies suggest that the different types of vocal information could be processed in partially dissociated functional pathways, and support a neurocognitive model of voice perception largely similar to that proposed for face perception.     

A preliminary comparison of functional analysis results when conducted in contrived versus natural settings

A preliminary evaluation of the correspondence between functional analysis outcomes across settings was conducted with 2 children who had been diagnosed with autism and who engaged in challenging behavior. Differences across settings (a therapy room and a classroom) were demonstrated in ABAB reversal designs. Three potential patterns of results that may occur when comparing functional analyses across environments are described, and one possible explanation for the occurrence of discrepancies between environments (differing learning histories within separate environments) is offered.     

Personality inference from voice quality: The loud voice of extroversion

Investigated the process of personality inference from voice quality using 24 male American stimulus persons who served as subjects in simulated jury discussions. Applying a Brunswikian lens model of the inference process, criteria, distal cues, proximal cues and attributions were measured by independent groups of judges: personality criteria by three peers of each stimulus person and, on the basis of content-masked voice samples, distal voice quality indicator cues by six phoneticians, proximal voice percept by ten naive judges, personality attributions by nine naive judges. Only extroversion attributions correlate significantly with the criterion, replicating earlier findings. For the inference of extroversion, contrary to other traits which apparently cannot be inferred accurately from voice quality, the following conditions are met: (a) the criterion is associated with ecologically valid voice energy cues (vocal effort and dynamic range), (b) these indicator cues are adequately represented as proximal voice percepts (particularly loudness and sharpness), and(c) percept utilization in the judges' inferential strategy corresponds to the association between criterion and distal indicator cues. Path-analytic procedures are used to test empirically the adequacy of the inference model to (a) account for the variance in the attributions, and (b) explain significant correlations between criteria and attributions in terms of mediating variables.     

Modifications to basic functional analysis procedures in school settings: a selective review

This review describes applied behavioral research involving functional analyses conducted in public school settings. Functional analyses in public school settings often require added conditions. The modified conditions described herein include changes to experimental designs, antecedent changes that include task variation, tasks included, idiosyncratic variables, physiological conditions, and modified escape conditions. Finally, consequent modifications cover peer attention, tangibles, varied attention, and altered escape. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multidimensional voice program analysis in profoundly deaf children: quantifying frequency and amplitude control

Characterization of the vocal profile of profoundly deaf children using an objective voice analysis was carried out in a university-based pediatric otolaryngology clinic. 21 persons ages 3.5 to 18 years were assessed. From each sustained phonation of the vowel /a/ the following acoustic variables were extracted: fundamental frequency (F0), jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, fundamental frequency variation (vF0), peak amplitude variation (vAM), and first, second, and third formant frequencies (F1, F2, F3). Mean F0 was 267.8 Hz and consistent with established normative data. Mean measurements of jitter (0.88%) and shimmer (3.5%) were also within normal limits. The notable feature of the acoustic analysis was a statistically significant elevation in vF0 (2.81%) and vAM (23.58%). With the exception of one subject, the F1, F2, and F3 formant frequencies were comparable to those for normal hearing children. Auditory deprivation results in poor long-term control of frequency and amplitude during sustained phonation. The inability to maintain a sustained phonation may represent the partial collapse of an internal model of voice and speech.     

让建言更多含金量：员工建言质量的前因机制

员工高质量的建议是企业提质增效的重要途径。然而, 以往研究主要聚焦在员工的“建言参与”和“建言数量”上, 忽略了一个最本质的问题——员工的建言质量如何?为解决这一关键问题, 分别从员工建言质量的内涵、测量、前因机制的角度构建一个关于员工建言质量的系统研究。研究一基于扎根理论, 探讨员工建言质量的内涵与结构, 开发员工建言质量的测量工具; 研究二是基于内隐建言理论, 从个体和团队两个层面探讨员工与领导的批判性思维对员工建言质量的影响机制。理论贡献在于推动员工建言质量的理论构建, 拓展批判性思维理论、内隐建言理论的应用。     

Conflict in the middle voice

The author presents material from Homeric texts that is expressed in the middle voice, an ancient Greek verb form that strikes a balance between passive and active voices. A clinical vignette is presented in which the analysand expresses herself in a way that captures some of the sensibility of the middle voice. The author discusses ways in which the vision of human experience expressed by the middle voice, a vision that was developed and elaborated in the later Greek tragedies, can illuminate psychoanalytic approaches to problems of personal agency and conflict.