Leena Rantala

Voice Changes During Work: Subjective Complaints and Objective Measurements for Female Primary and Secondary Schoolteachers

The purpose of this investigation was to study voice changes during a working day. The subjects consisted of 33 female primary and secondary schoolteachers who recorded their first and last lessons during one school day. The subjects were studied both as one group and two subgroups (those with many and those with few voice complaints). Estimates of fundamental frequency (F0), sound pressure level (SPL), the standard deviations of these values (F0 SD; SPL SD) and F0 time (vibration time of vocal folds) were made. The most obvious change due to loading was the rise of F0 that was 9.7 Hz between the first and last lesson (P = 0.00). F0 increased more (12.8. Hz, P = 0.006) in the subgroup with few complaints.

DANCE AND MOVEMENT THERAPEUTIC METHODS IN MANAGEMENT OF DEMENTIA: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED STUDY

To the Editor: Behavioral and cognitive problems in dementia can be addressed using various nonpharmacological interventions such as neuropsychological rehabilitation and Reality Orientation therapy, but alternative methods still need to be sought for. Creative activities, stimulation of sensomotor system, and music therapy have been found to be potentially beneficial. We previously demonstrated the applicability of dance and movement therapy (DMT) in dementia, and this letter evaluates whether it would improve patients’ cognitive level or behavior. The DMT intervention consisted of nine sessions with 1-week intervals lasting for 30 to 45 minutes each (see for the description); the control group spent the same amount of time together in regular nursing home activities. The intervention study was conducted in compliance with Declaration of Helsinki ethical standards. The patients and their spouses signed an informed consent, and the municipal board of Health Centre of Nivala, acting as a disciplinary committee, approved the study. Assessments made 1 week before and immediately before the beginning of the DMT (double-baseline, the mean used in statistical comparisons), at Weeks 5 and 9 of the intervention, and at Week 13 (follow-up 4 weeks post-intervention) included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); the Word List savings score (percentage of the delayed recall compared with the third learning trial) and the Clock Drawing Test (maximum score 6) from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease Neuropsychological Battery; the Cookie Theft picture description task from Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Test, along with other pictures used alternatively, scored for the number of Information Units; and the Nurses’ Observation Scale for Geriatric Patients (NOSGER), for which, in each subscale, a higher score indicates greater impairment. Means and standard deviations are given; an independent-samples t-test, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for repeated measures, and a paired-samples t-test from SPSS for Windows (Release 13.0.1. 2004. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) were used.

Working-Day Effects on the Spectral Characteristics of Teaching Voice

Ten teachers made recordings during one normal working day using a portable DAT recorder and a head-mounted microphone. In addition, the subjects filled in a questionnaire of signs of vocal fatigue. The speech samples were selected from the first and last lesson from three points representing the beginning, middle and end part of the lesson, respectively. To standardize the samples, 30 [a] vowels from stressed syllables were chosen for spectral analysis. The level of the fundamental and second formant regions (L1), the level of frequency ranges 2–5 kHz (L2) and 5–10 kHz (L5) were measured. From these measurements the parameters L1–L0, L1–L2 and L1–L5 were formed and used in the analyses as well as the energy levels below and above 1 kHz (α). Statistically significant changes were observed in the following parameters: the L1–L2 and L1–L5 differences, and the α ratio. In general, there was an increase in the energy content of the high frequency components due to vocal loading. The subjective reports revealed a statistically significant relationship with the spectral characteristics.

F0 change due to voice loading under laboratory and field conditions. A pilot study

The aim of the study was to compare fundamental frequency (F0) values recorded in a voice laboratory with recordings made in a working environment. The subjects were three female teachers (mean age 34 years) with a healthy larynx. The subjects recorded speech samples at school (the first and last lesson of 1 working day) and in a laboratory (loading task: 45-min reading, SP>75 dB, microphone 1 m from the mouth). The results showed that F0 rose in both cases, but the changes during loading were not linear. In addition, F0 was higher under field conditions than in the laboratory.

Dance/Movement Therapeutic Methods In Management Of Dementia

3. Tinetti ME, Williams CS, Gill TM. Dizziness among older adults: A possible geriatric syndrome. Ann Intern Med 2000;132:337–344. 4. Rousseau P. Emesis: Another geriatric syndrome. J Am Geriatr Soc 1995;43: 836. 5. Tinetti ME, Inouye SK, Gill TM et al. Shared risk factors for falls, incontinence, and functional decline: Unifying the approach to geriatrics syndromes. JAMA 1995;273:1348–1353. 6. Jahnigan D, Schrier R, eds. Geriatric Medicine. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Science, 1996. 7. Gordon M. ‘Silent angina’: A geriatric syndrome? Can Med Assoc J 1986; 135:849–851. 8. Durham. RH, eds. Encyclopedia of Medical Syndromes. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1960. 9. Himsworth HP. The syndrome of diabetes mellitus and its causes. Lancet 1949;1:465–472. 10. Reuben DB. Geriatric syndromes. In: Beck AC, ed. Geriatrics Review Syllabus, 2nd Ed. New York: American Geriatrics Society, 1991, pp. 117–231. 11. Drachman DA. Occam’s razor, geriatric syndromes, and the dizzy patient. Ann Intern Med 2000;132:403–405. 12. Cheng JS. Chronic dizziness in older adults. Ann Intern Med 2000;133:236.

Measuring voice under teachers' working circumstances : F0 and perturbation features in maximally sustained phonation

This study is part of a larger project, the aim of which is to develop a method for collecting voice data in working places. In this part, maximally sustained phonation was studied to assess its stability in this kind of uncontrolled circumstances. The subjects were 11 female schoolteachers. Different portions of a sustained /a/ and two consecutively produced samples were measured. The acoustic variables measured were fundamental frequency (F0), jitter and shimmer. The results showed that two consecutively produced phonations were quite similar, but the place of the sample within the sustained vowel had a very small but statistically significant effect on the values of F0 and shimmer. Jitter varied quite a lot, and could perhaps be considered to be dependent on the recording circumstances.

FROM SEEKERS TO ACTIVISTS

Media culture is a firm part of youth cultures today. Media can also be seen as one empowering technology in the information society alongside traditional school and government. What kind of civic identities are young people constructing in contemporary media culture? This article discusses media-saturated youth and audience agency, drawing on Dahlgrens ideas of civic culture. Relying on empirical data from two case studies in Finland, we will introduce a typology of civic identities, which the young construct as members of the public in relation to media. Our first case study is a youth civic website called Vaikuttamo.net and the second is the Youth Voice Editorial Board, which consists of a group of young people producing news for mainstream media. Our research supports various earlier observations that young people are firmly engaged, though to a lesser extent, in the formal political realm. We particularly want to emphasize the role of the local media and the expressive potential of young people. The media should be noted as a public forum where cultural and political modes of expression and participation can be mixed – not only in global online media, but also in more traditional local media such as television and newspaper. The research shows that young people are also willing to enter generational public discussions about civic issues instead of keeping to their own forums of media publicity.

Connections between Voice Ergonomic Risk Factors in Classrooms and Teachers’ Voice Production

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate if voice ergonomic risk factors in classrooms correlated with acoustic parameters of teachers’ voice production. Methods: The voice ergonomic risk factors in the fields of working culture, working postures and indoor air quality were assessed in 40 classrooms using the Voice Ergonomic Assessment in Work Environment – Handbook and Checklist. Teachers (32 females, 8 males) from the above-mentioned classrooms recorded text readings before and after a working day. Fundamental frequency, sound pressure level (SPL) and the slope of the spectrum (alpha ratio) were analyzed. Results: The higher the number of the risk factors in the classrooms, the higher SPL the teachers used and the more strained the males’ voices (increased alpha ratio) were. The SPL was already higher before the working day in the teachers with higher risk than in those with lower risk. Conclusion: In the working environment with many voice ergonomic risk factors, speakers increase voice loudness and use more strained voice quality (males). A practical implication of the results is that voice ergonomic assessments are needed in schools.

In search of third spaces in media education: an ethnographic study from fifth graders’ media workshop

Media educators and researchers call for learner‐centred, bottom‐up pedagogical approaches, which take into account learners’ own cultures, knowledge and experiences. Nevertheless, there seem to be gaps between traditional, authoritarian school culture and the interactive, creative media culture that is a significant part of youngsters’ lives today. How then to bridge gaps between these two cultures? This article suggests that the idea of third spaces could be regarded as a way to go beyond these binaries in media education. The article reports an ethnographic case study from a media production workshop carried out in a Finnish comprehensive school with 11–12 year‐old youngsters and their teacher. Based on this study, I discuss how third spaces could be created in media production practices in the school context.

Associations between voice ergonomic risk factors and acoustic features of the voice.

The associations between voice ergonomic risk factors in 40 classrooms and the acoustic parameters of 40 schoolteachers’ voices were investigated. The risk factors assessed were connected to participants’ working practices, working postures, and the indoor air quality in their workplaces. The teachers recorded spontaneous speech and sustained /a/ before and after a working day. Fundamental frequency, sound pressure level, the slope of the spectrum, perturbation, and harmonic-to-noise ratio were analysed. The results showed that the more the voice ergonomic risk factors were involved, the louder the teachers’ voices became. Working practices correlated most often with the acoustic parameters; associations were found especially before a working day. The results suggest that a risky voice ergonomic environment affects voice production.