Download Identifying function-specific prosodic cues for non-speech user interface sound design This study explores the potential of utilising certain prosodic qualities of function-specific vocal expressions in order to design effective non-speech user interface sounds. In an empirical setting, utterances with four context-situated communicative functions were produced by 20 participants. Time series of fundamental frequency (F0 ) and intensity were extracted from the utterances and analysed statistically. The results show that individual communicative functions have distinct prosodic characteristics that can be statistically modelled. By using the model, certain function-specific prosodic cues can be identified and, in turn, imitated in the design of communicative interface sounds for the corresponding communicative functions in human-computer interaction.
Download Multi-feature modeling of pulse clarity: Design, validation, and optimisation Pulse clarity is considered as a high-level musical dimension that conveys how easily in a given musical piece, or a particular moment during that piece, listeners can perceive the underlying rhythmic or metrical pulsation. The objective of this study is to establish a composite model explaining pulse clarity judgments from the analysis of audio recordings, decomposed into a set of independent factors related to various musical dimensions. To evaluate the pulse clarity model, 25 participants have rated the pulse clarity of one hundred excerpts from movie soundtracks. The mapping between the model predictions and the ratings was carried out via regressions. More than three fourth of listeners’ rating variance can be explained with a combination of periodicity-based and nonperiodicity-based factors.