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Vocal self-perception plays an important role in the learning process as a classical singer, especially to a hearing impaired classical singer like myself. To explore and challenge my vocal self-perception, I used two different enchanced feedback methods to observe how I responded with my singing technique: one based on auditory feedback and one based on visual feedback. I formulated two training sequences with a defined schedule and procedure. I sang excerpts from two contrasting arias and made a total of seventeen audio recordings and eleven video recordings. Those recordings were then evaluated by me in listening sessions, focusing on the quality of tone. I chose six audio recordings to play for a small discussion group and collected the group's perceptual data. The results suggest that these methods did not positively impact my singing technique, but the experience did lead me to some important realizations about certain timbral qualities in my voice, and I learned a great deal about different aspects of vocal self-perception in my singing practice.

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<p>Many daily motor tasks involve the precise control of both force level and motor timing. The neural mechanisms concurrently managing these movement parameters remain unclear, as the dominant focus of previous literature has been to examine each in isolation. As a result, little is understood regarding the contribution of various sensory modalities to force output and interval production in sequential motor tasks. This thesis uses a sequential force production task to investigate the roles of visual and somatosensory feedback in the timed control of force. In Chapter 2 we find that removal of visual force feedback resulted in specific force output errors, but leaves motor timing behavior relatively unaffected according to predictions of the two-level timing model by Wing and Kristofferson (1973). In Chapter 3, we show that force output errors exhibited in the absence of a visual reference may be related to the processing of reafferent somatosensation from self-generated force pulses. The results of Chapter 4 reveal evidence that force errors exhibited following visual feedback removal are consistent with a shift in the perceived magnitude of force output and that the direction of error may be determined by prior task constraints. In Chapter 5 we find evidence of effector-specificity in the processing of and compensation for reafferent somatosensation. Lastly, in Chapter 6 we find that the interplay between audition and somatosensation in the control of sound level by the vocal effectors resembles that which is observed between vision and somatosensation in the control of force by the distal effectors.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Maintaining upright posture is seemingly an automatic task in younger adults, but it may require additional resources in late adulthood due to decreases in sensorimotor and cognitive functions. The thesis used a dual-task paradigm to investigate age-related changes in relation to the secondary task and context-dependent factors attributes to postural control. The postural task involved visuomotor tracking. Successfully performing the visuomotor task necessitated proper sensory feedback, motor response, and sensorimotor integration. Moreover, we used silent counting as a cognitive task to investigate attentional demands on postural control and age-related difference in cognitive processing.</p> <p>We first investigated the relative contributions of visual feedback delay and cognitive task load on postural dynamics as well as age-related difference in this effect. Our results supported distinct timescale mechanisms for postural control. Moment-to-moment center of pressure fluctuations are dependent on cognitive performance during delayed visual feedback postural control. Also, we demonstrated the increased role of vision with age in postural control. Next, we investigated whether postural control improved when performing a cognitive task with an internal focus of attention. We found that devoting less attention internally by performing a cognitive dual-task enhanced postural control in young adults. Yet, the age-related declines diminish the attentional allocation ability. Lastly, we investigated how older and younger adults differ in employing sensorimotor strategies in a dual-task situation. Our results suggested that age-related changes in postural control may degrade the flexible coordination of the sensory feedback and motor execution. Furthermore, diminished cognitive and attentional capacities may alter postural performance in dual-task conditions.</p> <p>This thesis adds to the current understanding of the role of sensorimotor processing, attentional influence and age in the control of posture. Our data provide convergent evidence that deterioration of peripheral sensorimotor systems and reduced flexibility in central information processing are responsible for the age-related differences in postural control. <strong></strong></p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The area of Human-Robot Interaction deals with problems not only related to robots interacting with humans, but also with problems related to humans interacting and controlling robots. This dissertation focuses on the latter and evaluates multi-sensory (vision, hearing, touch, smell) feedback interfaces as a means to improve robot-operator cognition and performance. A set of four empirical studies using both simulated and real robotic systems evaluated a set of multi-sensory feedback interfaces with various levels of complexity. The task scenario for the robot in these studies involved the search for victims in a debris-filled environment after a fictitious catastrophic event (e.g., earthquake) took place. The results show that, if well-designed, multi-sensory feedback interfaces can indeed improve the robot operator data perception and performance. Improvements in operator performance were detected for navigation and search tasks despite minor increases in workload. In fact, some of the multi-sensory interfaces evaluated even led to a reduction in workload. The results also point out that redundant feedback is not always beneficial to the operator. While introducing the concept of operator omni-directional perception, that is, the operator’s capability of perceiving data or events coming from all senses and in all directions, this work explains that feedback redundancy is only beneficial when it enhances the operator omni-directional perception of data relevant to the task at hand. Last, the comprehensive methodology employed and refined over the course of the four studies is suggested as a starting point for the design of future HRI user studies. In summary, this work sheds some light on the benefits and challenges multi-sensory feedback interfaces bring, specifically on teleoperated robotics. It adds to our current understanding of these kinds of interfaces and provides a few insights to assist the continuation of research in the area.

This thesis presents work in the area of computer-based speech therapy using different types of visual feedback to replace the auditory feedback channel. The study includes diagnostic assessment methods prior to therapy, type of therapy design, and type of visual feedback for different users during different stages of therapy for increasing the efficiency. The thesis focuses on individual computer-based speech therapy (CBST) for profoundly hearing-impaired children as well as for computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) for teaching and training the prosody of a second language. Children who are born with a profound hearing loss have no acoustic speech target to imi¬tate and compare their own production with. Therefore, they develop no spontaneous speech but have to learn speech through vision, tactile sensation and, if possible, residual hear¬ing. They have to rely on the limited visibility of phonetic features in learning oral speech and on orosensory-motor control in maintaining speech movements. These children constitute a heterogeneous group needing an individualized speech therapy. This is because their possibilities to communicate with speech depend not only on the amount of hearing, as measured by pure-tone audiometry, but also on the quality of the hearing sensa¬tion and the use the children through training are able to make of their functional hearing for speech. Adult second language learners, on the other hand, have difficulties in perceiving the phonetics and prosody of a second language through audition, not because of a hearing loss but because they are not able to hear new sound contrasts because of interference with their native language. The thesis presents an overview of reports made concerning speech communication and profound hearing impairment such as studies about residual hearing for speech processing, effects of speech input limitations on speech production, interaction between individual deviations and speech intelligibility, and speech assessment methods of phonetic realizations of phonological systems. Finally, through several clinical evaluation studies of three Swedish computer-based therapy systems, concerning functionality, efficiency, types of visual feedback, therapy design, and practical usability for different users, important recommendations are specified for future developments.

<p>This thesis presents work in the area of computer-based speech therapy using different types of visual feedback to replace the auditory feedback channel. The study includes diagnostic assessment methods prior to therapy, type of therapy design, and type of visual feedback for different users during different stages of therapy for increasing the efficiency. The thesis focuses on individual computer-based speech therapy (CBST) for profoundly hearing-impaired children as well as for computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) for teaching and training the prosody of a second language. Children who are born with a profound hearing loss have no acoustic speech target to imi¬tate and compare their own production with. Therefore, they develop no spontaneous speech but have to learn speech through vision, tactile sensation and, if possible, residual hear¬ing. They have to rely on the limited visibility of phonetic features in learning oral speech and on orosensory-motor control in maintaining speech movements. These children constitute a heterogeneous group needing an individualized speech therapy. This is because their possibilities to communicate with speech depend not only on the amount of hearing, as measured by pure-tone audiometry, but also on the quality of the hearing sensa¬tion and the use the children through training are able to make of their functional hearing for speech. Adult second language learners, on the other hand, have difficulties in perceiving the phonetics and prosody of a second language through audition, not because of a hearing loss but because they are not able to hear new sound contrasts because of interference with their native language. The thesis presents an overview of reports made concerning speech communication and profound hearing impairment such as studies about residual hearing for speech processing, effects of speech input limitations on speech production, interaction between individual deviations and speech intelligibility, and speech assessment methods of phonetic realizations of phonological systems. Finally, through several clinical evaluation studies of three Swedish computer-based therapy systems, concerning functionality, efficiency, types of visual feedback, therapy design, and practical usability for different users, important recommendations are specified for future developments.</p>

Human movements are remarkably adaptive, such that we are capable of completing movements in a novel environment with similar accuracy to those performed in a typical environment. Our ability to perform in these environments involves accurate processing of sensory feedback for online and offline control. These processes of control have been widely studied for well learned actions, but not for actions in a novel visuomotor environment. In two experiments, we examined control processes underlying reaches when participants were first introduced to a visuomotor rotation (Experiment 1) and then following visuomotor adaptation (Experiment 2). All participants completed 150 reach training trials when (1) a cursor accurately represented their hand motion (i.e., aligned cursor) and (2) a cursor was rotated 45 degrees clockwise relative to their hand motion (i.e., rotated cursor). In Experiment 1, we sought to determine if the control processes underlying movements in typical and novel visuomotor conditions were comparable. Participants (n = 16) received either continuous visual feedback or terminal visual feedback regarding movement endpoint during reach training. Analyses revealed that participants were able to demonstrate similar outcomes (i.e., movement time and endpoint errors) regardless of visual or cursor feedback, but also demonstrated more offline control (i.e., took more time planning and were less consistent in initiating their movements) when reaching with a rotated cursor compared to an aligned cursor, even at the end of training. Together, the results suggest a greater contribution of offline control processes and less effective online corrective processes when reaching in a novel environment compared to when reaching in a typical environment. In attempt to promote online corrective processes, participants (n = 16) in Experiment 2 first completed the training trials with continuous visual feedback and then completed an additional 45 reaches under (1) slow movement time (i.e., Slow MT: 800-1000 ms) and (2) fast movement time (i.e., Fast MT: 400-500ms) constraints. Results showed a shift to online control (i.e., greater endpoint accuracy) when reaching with an aligned and rotated cursor, when sufficiently more time was provided (i.e., Slow MT). Specifically, participants were able to more effectively utilize visual feedback for online control under the Slow MT constraint compared to when reaching quickly (i.e., Fast MT). Together, these experiments demonstrate a flexibility in control processes underlying reaches with rotated visual feedback of the hand. In that reaches first engage in offline control processes during adaptation to a visuomotor rotation, and then shift to online corrective processes following visuomotor adaptation.

The following thesis is written by students at the School of Engineering at Jönköping University, informatics, New Media Design. The background of this report is based on a project collaboration with Toxic Interactive solutions AB, who wanted help with creating an application for registering sick leave from work. Since these registrations for sick leave affects the income and work relations, the aspect trust within an application was chosen as a subject for the report. Furthermore we connected this to the feedback element to see how trust was affected by this factor. Also the design and tonality of the feedback was chosen as a subject for the study. Visual feedback connects to the user with information about their actions and a confirmation. Based on this, two questions were formed: [1] How does visual feedback affect trust in a mobile application? [2] Does the the tonality in the feedback affect trust for a mobile application? To answer these questions, user tests and interviews was performed with the users. Three prototypes were created with different levels of feedback: no feedback, feedback with formal tonality and feedback with informal tonality. These were tested on nine users for each prototype (27 users in total). Parallelly two interviews with experts of the area were performed for a deeper knowledge and comparability. Other than this relevant studies and theories have been studied. The results of this study show that feedback contributes to increased trustworthiness amongst users. Although there are many other reasons that will have an affect. A formal tonality in the feedback is perceived as slightly more trustworthy according to the user tests and user interviews conducted. An insight about the connection between the tonality and target groups and subjective preferences was revealed from the expert interviews. Also, theories studied about the formality of the language mentions that it should be adapted to the specific target group. The conclusions that can be made from the study shows that trust, feedback and tonality are all connected. all the results show that feedback in a system has a positive effect on the user experience. Feedback also means more trust from a user than when its absent. / Följande examensarbete har utförts av studenter på Tekniska Högskolan i Jönköping på kandidatpåbyggnadsprogrammet informatik, New Media Design. Bakgrunden till arbetet grundar sig i ett projekt från Toxic Interactive Solutions AB som önskade hjälp med att ta fram en mobilapplikation för hantering av sjukanmälningar. Eftersom sjukanmälningar påverkar inkomst och jobbrelationer var förtroende en aspekt som valdes som inriktning att studera. Vidare hur förtroende hos användare påverkas av feedback. Även hur feedbacken är utformad valdes att studera. Visuell feedback återkopplar till användare om deras utförda handlingar som en bekräftelse på att deras anmälningar i applikationen är genomförda. Grundat i detta formulerades två frågeställningar: [1] Hur påverkar visuell feedback i ett gränssnitt faktorn förtroende för en mobilapplikation? [2] Påverkar tonaliteten i feedbacken förtroendet för en mobilapplikation? För att besvara dessa frågeställningar utfördes observationer användartester uppföljt av intervjuer med användarna. Tre prototyper utformades med olika grad av feedback; ingen feedback, formell ton på feedback samt icke-formell ton på feedback. Dessa testades med 9 personer på varje prototyp för att utläsa eventuella skillnader på attityd till dem (totalt 27 tester/intervjuer). Parallellt utfördes två olika intervjuer med experter inom området för att få en djupare kunskap, samt att kunn jämföra med användartesterna. Utöver detta har relevanta studier och teorier studerats. Resultaten visar på att feedback bidrar till ökat förtroende, dock är det många olika aspekter som spelar in. En formell tonalitet i feedbacken upplevdes aningen mer pålitlig enligt användartester och användarintervjuer. En insikt om att detta är starkt kopplat till målgrupp och subjektiva preferenser konstaterades från båda expertintervjuerna som hölls. Även teori om formalitet i språk säger att språket bör anpassas till den specifika användaren. De slutsatser som kan utläsas från studien är att förtroende, feedback och tonalitet går att koppla till varandra. Samtliga delar tyder på att användning av feedback har en positiv inverkan på användarupplevelsen. Även när feedback är närvarande inger detta mer tillit än när den inte är befintlig.