Raising public awareness of acoustic principles using voice and speech production

Abstract

Public engagement with science, technology, and engineering is seen as being increasingly important as the numbers of school leavers choosing to read for degrees in these areas is typically dropping. Engagement with pupils during their school years is seen as being a key element in influencing their choices of career for which seeds are sown from the primary years. Acoustics is an excellent vehicle for public engagement since the demonstrations can be appreciated directly by the sense of hearing and the underlying principles also apply in many branches of physics and engineering. This paper describes a number of demonstrations that have been employed during science engagement events for schools and the general public in the context of the principles of acoustics and human speech production. The apparatus used, which in some cases has been purpose-built, is described along with the activities themselves. In addition, a way to quantify the success of the process is proposed that involves a single button press on entry to and exit from an event.

Dynamic Vibration Cooperates with Connective Tissue Growth Factor to Modulate Stem Cell Behaviors

“…1,2 Vocal folds are composed of a stratified squamous epithelium, a matrix-rich lamina propria (LP), and the vocalis muscle. Adult human vocal fold LP is a highly organized and complex structure, consisting of a superficial layer (SLP) lacking mature collagen and elastin fibers, an intermediate layer (ILP) rich in elastin and hyaluronic acid (HA), and a deep layer (DLP) with abundant collagen fibers and other interstitially dispersed proteoglycans.…”

“…Adult vocal folds experience a broad frequency range (100-300 Hz) and sustain strains up to 30% during normal phonation. 1,2 Human vocal folds are frequently exposed to numerous insults, such as voice abuse, infections, or chemical irritants. Once these physiological provocations exceed the tissue's healing capacity, vocal scarring or dysphonia occurs.…”

“…Vocal fold scarring is associated with altered matrix composition and tissue mechanics, therefore compromising the SLP's ability to propagate the mucosal wave during phonation. [2][3][4] Stem cell-based tissue engineering strategy has emerged as a promising alternative approach for vocal fold restoration. 5 Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely employed as the therapeutic cells for a variety of regenerative medicine applications.…”

The Aeolus project: Science outreach through art

“…It is within this context that a number of innovative outreach projects specifically targeted at promoting acoustics have developed. A key feature among all of them has been presenting interactive demonstrations that stimulate awe and curiosity (Howard, 2012) or enfranchise the public in scientific research to relay the field's relevance. Some notable examples being the IMPRINTS project (Mydlarz et al, 2008) which encouraged the public to assess soundscapes with mobile phones or the Terrible Sounds project (Cox, 2008) where the public rated horrible sounds online.…”