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- Title
- Understanding vocal fatigue and grade level demand as quantified by the vocal fatigue index (VFI
- Creator
- Banks, Russell Edealo
- Date
- 2015
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
ABSTRACTUNDERSTANDING VOCAL FATIGUE AND GRADE LEVEL DEMANDAS QUANTIFIED BY THE VOCAL FATIGUE INDEX (VFI)BYRussell Edealo BanksPrevious research has concluded that teachers are at higher than normal risk for voice issues that can cause occupational limitations, but specific grade levels affected most by voice issues have not yet been identified. This research aims to identify by grade level, the teachers most at risk for vocal fatigue. A self-reported survey was distributed using the Qualtrics...
Show moreABSTRACTUNDERSTANDING VOCAL FATIGUE AND GRADE LEVEL DEMANDAS QUANTIFIED BY THE VOCAL FATIGUE INDEX (VFI)BYRussell Edealo BanksPrevious research has concluded that teachers are at higher than normal risk for voice issues that can cause occupational limitations, but specific grade levels affected most by voice issues have not yet been identified. This research aims to identify by grade level, the teachers most at risk for vocal fatigue. A self-reported survey was distributed using the Qualtrics online survey software. Vocal fatigue was measured using the Vocal Fatigue Index and used to quantify the amount of potential risk involved in each teaching grade. Teachers’ responses from several different school districts throughout the United States were separated into grade levels and analyzed.The data collected in this study showed no effect of a teachers’ specific teaching grade level on the amount of vocal fatigue that they experienced. However, several other factors seemed to have an effect: size and capacity of the classrooms in which the teachers taught; frequency of colds, sinus infections, and laryngitis; frequency of caffeine, smoking, and alcohol consumption; and as well as the presence of reflux and allergies. These research discoveries will have a great effect on the precautions taken by educators and school administrators to avoid vocal fatigue, and, thus, occupational risk from short- and long-term voice issues. There are many additional factors which may affect perceived vocal fatigue that must be explored.
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- Title
- PERCEPTIONS OF VOICE PRODUCTION IN HEALTHY FEMALES IN REGARDS TO AGE AND PROFESSIONALISM : AS QUANTIFIED BY ACOUSTIC AND PERCEPTUAL MEASURES
- Creator
- Nizami, Hafsaah Fatima
- Date
- 2022
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
PURPOSE: This study aims to research the perception of voice as it relates to aging and professionalism in an individual. The production of voice varies in accordance with various factors. These variations often provide an insight into a listener’s perceptions of a speaker’s vocal characteristics and these perceptions may vary across settings. METHODS: This study required four components. The first component required college aged participants to rate perceptions of age and health in regards...
Show morePURPOSE: This study aims to research the perception of voice as it relates to aging and professionalism in an individual. The production of voice varies in accordance with various factors. These variations often provide an insight into a listener’s perceptions of a speaker’s vocal characteristics and these perceptions may vary across settings. METHODS: This study required four components. The first component required college aged participants to rate perceptions of age and health in regards to young and old female vocalists. The second section required college aged participants to rate professionalism in regards to young and old female vocalists. Speech Professionals were asked to participate in the third component of this study, in which they rated listeners among the GRBAS scale. The last component required a quantification of results using a standard acoustic measure like cepstral peak prominence. RESULTS: Strong positive correlations were found between estimated age and actual age, strong negative correlations were found between older women and professionalism; moderately positive correlations were found between younger women and professionalism; moderate to strong correlation was found between age and GRBAS; and moderate negative correlations were found between age and CPPS. DISCUSSION: The following results were found: College-aged students were able to distinguish between the younger and older females. Older women were perceived as less professional. As age increases, GRBAS scores also increase. As age increases, CPPS ratings will decrease. CONCLUSION: Further research may require completion of surveys in a controlled environment, and inclusion of pitch-related measures as they relate to the workplace. Keywords: Aging voice, biological sex differences, perception of voice, professional voice, acoustic measures
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- Title
- Validation and application of experimental framework for the study of vocal fatigue
- Creator
- Berardi, Mark Leslie
- Date
- 2020
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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In recent years, vocal fatigue research has been increasingly studied particularly with application to the reduction of its impact on schoolteachers and other occupational voice users. However, the concept of vocal fatigue is complex and neither well defined or well understood. Vocal fatigue seems to be highly individualized and dependent on several underlying factors or concepts. The purpose of this dissertation is to propose and support through experimentation a framework that can identify...
Show moreIn recent years, vocal fatigue research has been increasingly studied particularly with application to the reduction of its impact on schoolteachers and other occupational voice users. However, the concept of vocal fatigue is complex and neither well defined or well understood. Vocal fatigue seems to be highly individualized and dependent on several underlying factors or concepts. The purpose of this dissertation is to propose and support through experimentation a framework that can identify the factors contributing to vocal fatigue. The main hypothesis is that the change in vocal effort, vocal performance, and/or their interaction through a vocal demand (load) will implicate vocal fatigue. To test this hypothesis, three primary research questions and experiments were developed. For all three experiments vocal effort was rated using the Borg CR-100 scale and vocal performance was evaluated with five speech acoustic parameters (fundamental frequency mean and standard deviation, speech level mean and standard deviation, and smoothed cepstral peak prominence).The first research question tests whether perceived vocal effort can be measured reliably and if so, how vocal performance in terms of vocal intensity changes with a vocal effort goal. Participants performed various speech tasks at cued effort levels from the Borg CR-100 scale. Speech acoustic parameters were calculated and compared across the specific vocal effort levels. Additionally, the test-retest reliability across the effort levels for speech level was measured. Building from that experiment, the second research question was to what degree are vocal performance and vocal effort related given talker exposure to three equivalent vocal load levels. This experiment had participants performing speech tasks when presented with three different equivalent vocal load scenarios (communication distance, loudness goal, and background noise); for a given load scenario, participants rated their vocal effort associated with these tasks. Vocal effort ratings and measures of vocal performance were compared across the vocal load levels. The last research question built on the previous two and asked to what degree do vocal performance, vocal effort, and/or their interaction change given a vocal load of excess background noise (noise load) over a prolonged speaking task (temporal load). To test this, participants described routes on maps for thirty minutes in the presence of loud (75 dBA) background noise. Vocal effort ratings and measures of vocal performance were compared throughout the vocal loading task.The results indicate that elicited vocal effort levels from the BORG CR-100 scale are distinct in vocal performance and reliable across the participants. Additionally, a relationship between changes in vocal effort and vocal performance across the various vocal load levels was quantified. Finally, these findings support the individual nature of the complex relationship between vocal fatigue, vocal effort, and vocal performance due to vocal loads (via cluster and subgroup analysis); the theoretical framework captures this complexity and provides insights into these relationships. Future vocal fatigue research should benefit from using the framework as an underlying model of these relationships.
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- Title
- The relationship between measures of vocal fatigue metrics and pulmonary function test results
- Creator
- Gavigan, Callan Aubrey
- Date
- 2017
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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This research investigated the relationship between pulmonary function test metrics and vocal fatigue. Female participants underwent a two-day study, which included a screening, non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks and pulmonary function testing. Subjective and objective measures indicating vocal fatigue were compared to pulmonary function measures. Subjective measures included participant's ratings of vocal fatigue on a 0-10 scale every 10 minutes throughout non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks....
Show moreThis research investigated the relationship between pulmonary function test metrics and vocal fatigue. Female participants underwent a two-day study, which included a screening, non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks and pulmonary function testing. Subjective and objective measures indicating vocal fatigue were compared to pulmonary function measures. Subjective measures included participant's ratings of vocal fatigue on a 0-10 scale every 10 minutes throughout non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks. Objective measures included variations of relative sound pressure level (SPL) and fundamental frequency (f0) collected during both pre and post non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks. Results indicated that the relationship between lung age and self-reported ratings of vocal fatigue were statistically significant (p<0.05). Variations in ΔSPL and f0 that were collected during non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks were both statistically significant (p<0.001) when compared to subjective ratings of vocal fatigue during the fatiguing task. Vocal tasks collected pre and post non-fatiguing and fatiguing tasks were not as sensitive to subjective ratings of vocal fatigue with ΔSPL compared to time (p<0.05) and f0 compared to time (p<0.05). Data regarding pulmonary function and vocal fatigue call for continued study, as there are potential implications for use as a screening tool. Additionally, vocal measures collected during vocal fatiguing tasks are more indicative of vocal changes than pre and post non-fatiguing and fatiguing measures.
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- Title
- Quantifying speech and voice impairment in individuals with a history of sports-related concussion
- Creator
- Banks, Russell Edealo
- Date
- 2019
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Researchers suggest that the following areas are affected by both acute and non-acute Sports Related Concussion (SRC): neurometabolic function, balance, vestibular/ocular function, cognition, and motor movement of the limbs. However, significant gaps in our knowledge still exist regarding the potential speech production effects of concussion. Additionally, the effect of concussion in complex speech contexts has gone largely unreported in published research. This dissertation set out to...
Show moreResearchers suggest that the following areas are affected by both acute and non-acute Sports Related Concussion (SRC): neurometabolic function, balance, vestibular/ocular function, cognition, and motor movement of the limbs. However, significant gaps in our knowledge still exist regarding the potential speech production effects of concussion. Additionally, the effect of concussion in complex speech contexts has gone largely unreported in published research. This dissertation set out to determine how the speech production of individuals with a history of concussion is affected. It also examined speech production between these groups during increasingly complex contexts: single syllable alternating motion rate (AMR) diadochokinetic (DDK) tasks, real and non-word multisyllabic sequential motion rate (SMR) DDK's, reading passages (Rainbow and Caterpillar), and spontaneous speech. Data was gathered from 30 individuals with a history of concussion and 30 matched controls with no history of concussion to understand potential speech differences. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate potential speech timing and acoustic differences between individuals with a history of concussion (one or more previous concussions) measured during speech tasks. Speech timing and acoustic differences have not yet been reported between those in the with a history of concussion and individuals with no history of concussion. The secondary purpose of the current study was to explore the potential perceived speech production differences of those with a history of concussion and those without a history of concussion to fill the research gaps that currently exist. Limited research is available on the perceived speech effects of concussion history. While previous research addresses speech intelligibility several unanswered questions remained, which are addressed in this dissertation. Results revealed a significant interaction effect of concussion status and speech timing analysis method where both objective (p < .001) subjective (p = .041) timing analysis were significantly different between participants with a history of concussion and those with no history of concussion. This and future work stemming from this dissertation will focus on standardizing measures for the potential use of identifying individuals at risk of long-term functional damage and those with acute speech production issues.
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- Title
- The impact of expiratory muscle strength training on vocal fatigue
- Creator
- Burtka, Rachel
- Date
- 2018
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
"Vocal fatigue is a recurring problem, particularly prevalent within females when speaking for long periods of time for their professions. This increased risk of vocal fatigue in females seems to have connection to speech breathing and breath support, possibly because of the smaller lung capacity that females typically have when compared to males along with other physiological differences. Due to this possible connection, the following research question was presented: Will strengthening the...
Show more"Vocal fatigue is a recurring problem, particularly prevalent within females when speaking for long periods of time for their professions. This increased risk of vocal fatigue in females seems to have connection to speech breathing and breath support, possibly because of the smaller lung capacity that females typically have when compared to males along with other physiological differences. Due to this possible connection, the following research question was presented: Will strengthening the pulmonary system show a decrease in the occurrence of vocal fatigue? It was hypothesized that after expiratory training exercises, vocal fatigue rate will be reduced within female participants. In addition, it was hypothesized that the breathing training could serve as a preventative measure in vocal fatigue with continued use. To test this hypothesis, data was collected from ten women of a shorter than average body height and weight range to enhance the possible smaller lung effect. The participants completed a preliminary data collection, a month-long breathing intervention with an expiratory muscle strength training device, and a post intervention data collection. Results indicated that both participant self-perceived vocal fatigue rating decreased and standard deviation of fundamental frequency increased after intervention. These results can indicate a trend of decreased vocal fatigue symptoms within participants after use with an expiratory muscle strength trainer."--Page ii.
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- Title
- The effect of vocal fry on speech intelligibility
- Creator
- Cammenga, Kaleigh Susan
- Date
- 2018
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
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Speech intelligibility is a measurement of the interaction between three components: the speech signal, the transmission channel, and the listener. Anything that interferes with any of these components can affect intelligibility. Vocal fry, though sometimes associated with vocal pathology, is commonly used in non-disordered speech. Speech produced with vocal fry differs from typical (modal) voicing in terms of pitch, volume, and quality. These differences may negatively impact intelligibility...
Show moreSpeech intelligibility is a measurement of the interaction between three components: the speech signal, the transmission channel, and the listener. Anything that interferes with any of these components can affect intelligibility. Vocal fry, though sometimes associated with vocal pathology, is commonly used in non-disordered speech. Speech produced with vocal fry differs from typical (modal) voicing in terms of pitch, volume, and quality. These differences may negatively impact intelligibility. Currently, no direct evidence exists regarding the impact of vocal fry on speech intelligibility. The purpose of the current study was to answer the research question: Does vocal fry affect the intelligibility of spoken words? We hypothesized that single words produced with vocal fry would be less intelligible than single words spoken in modal voice due to the acoustic characteristics and perceptions of vocal fry. To test this hypothesis, words spoken in both vocal fry and modal voice were collected and compiled to produce a standard intelligibility test procedure. Data from 26 listeners who completed the intelligibility test were analyzed in terms of intelligibility score and listening difficulty rating. The mean intelligibility score as a percentage of words correctly identified was 62.08% for words spoken with fry and 64.56% for words spoken with no fry. This difference was statistically significant. The mean listening difficulty rating was 4.98 for words spoken with fry and 4.56 for words spoken with no fry. This difference was also statistically significant. These results suggest that vocal fry does negatively impact speech intelligibility at the single word level. Decreased speech intelligibility may have numerous possible linguistic, social, and economic implications.
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- Title
- The relationship of aging on the rate of vocal fatigue based on personal rating scales and fundamental frequency
- Creator
- Sowa, Olivia Rae
- Date
- 2018
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
INTRODUCTION: The relationship between aging and the quality of voice has been researched for the last several decades. Multiple studies have found that females older than 40 consistently experience more instances of voice problems than their male counterparts. RESEARCH QUESTION: to what degree does a vocal loading task fatigue older women? How does the rate of vocal fatigue compare to that found in younger women? METHODS: Eleven female subjects from the age of 55-70 years old were recruited....
Show moreINTRODUCTION: The relationship between aging and the quality of voice has been researched for the last several decades. Multiple studies have found that females older than 40 consistently experience more instances of voice problems than their male counterparts. RESEARCH QUESTION: to what degree does a vocal loading task fatigue older women? How does the rate of vocal fatigue compare to that found in younger women? METHODS: Eleven female subjects from the age of 55-70 years old were recruited. Participants read aloud for 36 minutes at predetermined dB levels in an attempt to induce vocal fatigue. Subjective and acoustic vocal measures were taken not before and after the vocal loading task and at intervals during the task. RESULTS: Subjective results, acoustical parameters, and comparison data from the younger population were found to not be significant. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that vocal loading task did vocally fatigue the participants based on subjective ratings. Acoustically there trending evidence of fatigue from the loading task. The aging female population did not vocally fatigue at any greater rate than their younger counterparts. However, there was evidence that fatigue rate did relate to pulmonary health (estimated lung age) in the older population.
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