Design For Auditory Displays: Identifying Temporal And Spatial Information Conveyance Principles

Designing auditory interfaces is a challenge for current human-systems developers. This is largely due to a lack of theoretical guidance for directing how best to use sounds in today\u27s visually-rich graphical user interfaces. This dissertation provided a framework for guiding the design of audio interfaces to enhance human-systems performance. This doctoral research involved reviewing the literature on conveying temporal and spatial information using audio, using this knowledge to build three theoretical models to aid the design of auditory interfaces, and empirically validating select components of the models. The three models included an audio integration model that outlines an end-to-end process for adding sounds to interactive interfaces, a temporal audio model that provides a framework for guiding the timing for integration of these sounds to meet human performance objectives, and a spatial audio model that provides a framework for adding spatialization cues to interface sounds. Each model is coupled with a set of design guidelines theorized from the literature, thus combined, the developed models put forward a structured process for integrating sounds in interactive interfaces. The developed models were subjected to a three phase validation process that included review by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assess the face validity of the developed models and two empirical studies. For the SME review, which assessed the utility of the developed models and identified opportunities for improvement, a panel of three audio experts was selected to respond to a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) validation questionnaire. Based on the SWOT analysis, the main strengths of the models included that they provide a systematic approach to auditory display design and that they integrate a wide variety of knowledge sources in a concise manner. The main weaknesses of the models included the lack of a structured process for amending the models with new principles, some branches were not considered parallel or completely distinct, and lack of guidance on selecting interface sounds. The main opportunity identified by the experts was the ability of the models to provide a seminal body of knowledge that can be used for building and validating auditory display designs. The main threats identified by the experts were that users may not know where to start and end with each model, the models may not provide comprehensive coverage of all uses of auditory displays, and the models may act as a restrictive influence on designers or they may be used inappropriately. Based on the SWOT analysis results, several changes were made to the models prior to the empirical studies. Two empirical evaluation studies were conducted to test the theorized design principles derived from the revised models. The first study focused on assessing the utility of audio cues to train a temporal pacing task and the second study combined both temporal (i.e., pace) and spatial audio information, with a focus on examining integration issues. In the pace study, there were four different auditory conditions used for training pace: 1) a metronome, 2) non-spatial auditory earcons, 3) a spatialized auditory earcon, and 4) no audio cues for pace training. Sixty-eight people participated in the study. A pre- post between subjects experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The measure used for assessing pace performance was the average deviation from a predetermined desired pace. The results demonstrated that a metronome was not effective in training participants to maintain a desired pace, while, spatial and non-spatial earcons were effective strategies for pace training. Moreover, an examination of post-training performance as compared to pre-training suggested some transfer of learning. Design guidelines were extracted for integrating auditory cues for pace training tasks in virtual environments. In the second empirical study, combined temporal (pacing) and spatial (location of entities within the environment) information were presented. There were three different spatialization conditions used: 1) high fidelity using subjective selection of a best-fit head related transfer function, 2) low fidelity using a generalized head-related transfer function, and 3) no spatialization. A pre- post between subjects experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The performance measures were average deviation from desired pace and time and accuracy to complete the task. The results of the second study demonstrated that temporal, non-spatial auditory cues were effective in influencing pace while other cues were present. On the other hand, spatialized auditory cues did not result in significantly faster task completion. Based on these results, a set of design guidelines was proposed that can be used to direct the integration of spatial and temporal auditory cues for supporting training tasks in virtual environments. Taken together, the developed models and the associated guidelines provided a theoretical foundation from which to direct user-centered design of auditory interfaces

The utility of the auditory brainstem response in children with atypical saccadic eye movements

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictionsLesions in the brainstem result in widespread damage to a number of sensorimotor systems including oculomotor and auditory neural circuits. Although these systems are spatially separate and highly specialised, they are also co-located. This thesis, investigates whether lesions in the oculomotor system will also cause co-morbid dysfunction in the auditory pathways. Specifically, we investigated the usefulness of the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) in two oculomotor conditions: slow saccades in Gaucher disease (GD) and opsoclonus in Dancing Eye Syndrome (DES). We present four empirical studies. In our first study we systematically investigated the ABR in GD. We found that multimodal testing can better delineate underlying neurological deficits in neuronopathic GD (nGD) and distinguish between phenotypes. In the second study we examined the ABR's utility as a longitudinal, objective marker of disease burden and in a randomised clinical control trial. ABRs continued to deteriorate regardless of treatment. In our third study we assessed audiological function in DES. We found that at least 43% of DES patients have hyperacusis. We also found subtle abnormalities in the auditory brainstem, as shown by the ABR. Our final study explored the onset-offset response in the ABR and assessed its utility as a clinical marker. Overall, this thesis provides new evidence that auditory pathways are also affected in diseases which are traditionally assumed to be ‘oculomotor’ in nature. We believe that there is sufficient evidence to warrant the inclusion of audiological testing, such as the ABR, as part of the standard assessment of newly diagnosed GD patients and that they undergo these tests prior to commencing treatment. These tests may also have a wider application as longitudinal outcome measures for use in clinical trials or as markers of neurological burden in GD and we believe may be useful in other metabolic diseases; we found that current therapies for GD have low efficacy. Understanding the underlying neurological deficits in these debilitating illnesses can only help to improve treatments and the long-term outlook for these patients

Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC

A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC

Life Sciences Program Tasks and Bibliography for FY 1997

This document includes information on all peer reviewed projects funded by the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, Life Sciences Division during fiscal year 1997. This document will be published annually and made available to scientists in the space life sciences field both as a hard copy and as an interactive internet web page

Modelling loudness: Acoustic and perceptual correlates in the context of hypophonia in Parkinson’s disease

Hypophonia (quiet speech) is a common speech symptom associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and is associated with reduced intelligibility, communicative effectiveness, and communicative participation. Studies of hypophonia commonly employ average speech intensity as the primary dependent measure, which may not entirely capture loudness deficits. Loudness may also be affected by the frequency components of speech (i.e. spectral balance) and speech level variability. The present investigation examined relationships between perceived loudness and intelligibility with acoustic measures of loudness, speech intensity, and spectral distribution in individuals with hypophonia secondary to Parkinson’s disease (IWPDs) and neurologically healthy older adults (HOAs). Samples of sentence reading and conversational speech from 56 IWPDs and 46 HOAs were presented to listeners for ratings of perceived loudness and intelligibility. Listeners provided ratings of loudness using visual analogue scales (VAS) and direct magnitude estimation (DME). Acoustic measures of speech level (e.g. mean intensity), spectral balance (e.g. spectral tilt), and speech level variability (e.g. standard deviation of intensity) were obtained for comparison with perceived characteristics. In a spectral manipulation experiment, a gain adjustment altered the spectral balance of sentence samples while maintaining equal mean intensity. Listeners provided VAS ratings of perceived loudness of these manipulated samples. IWPDs were quieter, less intelligible, and had a relatively greater concentration of low-frequency energy than HOAs. Speech samples with weaker contributions of mid- (2-5 kHz) and high-frequency (5-8 kHz) energy were perceived as quieter. Results of the spectral manipulation experiment indicated that increases in the relative contribution of 2-10 kHz energy were associated with increases in perceived loudness. The acoustic time-varying loudness model (TVL) demonstrated stronger associations with perceived loudness and larger differences between IWPDs and HOAs, and successfully identified differences in loudness in the spectral manipulation experiment. Loudness ratings provided with VAS and DME were consistent, both providing excellent reliability. Findings of this investigation indicate that perceived loudness, acoustic loudness, and spectral balance are important components of hypophonia evaluation. Incorporating spectral manipulation in amplification by increasing high-frequency energy may improve efficacy of amplification devices for hypophonia management