• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.475-477
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• 2022

This study aims to listen to and enjoy sounds using the voice range of the elderly based on VR as voice changes can cause difficulties in communication at ordinary times and lead to elderly people's reluctance or avoidance of social activities.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to compare voice characteristics and voice-related quality of life (K-VRQOL) of the elderly female choir members using perceptual-auditory voice quality evaluation (GRBAS) and K-VRQOL scales. The participants were 77 women over 60 years old who were actively engaged in the choir in either Seoul or Busan. There are two kinds of choirs that indicate different engagement levels: regular choir and church choir. The perceptual-auditory vocal quality evaluation was listened to by / a / vowels and were graded by experts using the GRBAS scale. As a result, when comparing the differences between groups, the elderly female participants of the regular choir showed higher satisfaction in speech using the subjective speech recognition level than the elderly female members who performed in the church choir. In addition, the analysis showed that the satisfaction level was high in the physical function area of the K-VRQOL scale. This study confirmed that choral activities could yield positive results not only in terms of improving voice function in old age, but also to improve the subjective perception level of voice use, thus suggesting the necessity of systematic music programs to improve voices that are aging.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2011

Electroglottography (EGG) is a common method for providing non-invasive measurements of glottal activity. EGG has been used in vocal pathology as a clinical or research tool to measure vocal fold contact. This paper presents the results of pitch, jitter, and closed quotient (CQ) measurements in electroglottographic signals of young (mean = 22.7 years) and elderly (mean = 74.3 years) male and female subjects. The sustained corner vowels /i/, /a/, and /u/ were measured at around 70 dB SPL since the most notable among EGG variables is the phonation intensity, which showed positive correlation with closed phase. The aim of this paper was to measure EGG data according to age and gender. In CQ, there was a significant difference between young and elderly female subjects while there was no significant difference between young and elderly male subjects. The mean value for young males was higher than that for elderly males while the mean value for young females was lower than that for elderly females. Thus, it can be said that in mean values, increased CQ was related to decreased age for females, while CQ decreased for males as the speaker's age decreased. Although the laryngeal degeneration due to increased age seems to occur to a lesser extent in females, the significant increase of CQ in elderly female voices could not be explained in terms of age-related physiological changes. In standard deviation of pitch and jitter, the mean values for young and elderly males were higher than that for young and elderly females. That is, male subjects showed higher in mean values of voice variables than female subjects. This result could be considered as a sign of vocal instability in males. It was suggested that these results may provide powerful insights into the control and regulation of normal phonation and into the detection and characterization of pathology.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.59-67
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• 2018

There are not that many m-health related services limited to the elderly. Many of the elderly who are at risk of dementia are unfamiliar to smart devices, so it is required to design an user-customized App. Therefore, I design and embody a mobile voice alert integrated app, which enables voice input to increase the accessibility of the elderly, so as to prevent diseases caused by declined cognitive function such as dementia. I conducted interviews and questionnaire after having the students use the app in Lifelong Education Center in H region of Gyeongbuk, and the analysis result has showed the high satisfaction. It is expected that it will be able to play a key role for M-Health service for the elderly since it is possible to prevent dementia through the voice health care alert app. I would like to learn deep learning in the future to predict the life patterns and the possibility of dementia of the elderly.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.3-12
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• 2014

Larynx plays an important role in phonation and protection of the respiratory tract during swallowing. The reduced anatomical and physiological function in elevation of larynx and glottis closure can cause problems in voice and swallowing. The present study investigated the Korean version of handicap index of dysphagia in elderly Koreans. Therefore, 60 normal elderly Koreans ranged from 65 to 95 and 20 normal Korean young adults aged from 20 to 25 were participated in this study to compare total (T), physical (P), functional (F), and emotional (E) index scores between two groups as well as among sub groups (60s, 70s, 80s) in elderly. For swallowing, total and sub dysphagia handicap index (DHI) scores, voice quality during /a/phonation following swallowing (saliva and water), intensity of coughing, and L-DDK were measured. The results showed that functional (P), physical (P), emotional (E) scores as well as total (T) score were significantly different between young adults and old adults in DHI(p<.05). Additionally, there was a negative correlation between total DHI score and intensity of coughing (r=-.51) as well as L-DDK (r=-.70). These findings suggest that a slow rate in vocal fold adduction and reduced intensity of coughing in the elderly affect swallowing function. Thus, recently translated Korean version of DHI may be useful as supplement in evaluating the swallowing problems in elderly people.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.45-51
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• 2023

Voice issues such as voice weakness that arise with age can have social and emotional impacts, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and depression. This study aimed to investigate the changes in acoustic characteristics resulting from aging, focusing on voice quality and spoken fluency. To this end, tasks involving sustained vowel phonation and paragraph reading were recorded for 20 elderly and 20 young participants. Voice-quality-related variables, including F0, jitter, shimmer, and Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPP) values, were analyzed along with speech-fluency-related variables, such as average syllable duration (ASD), articulation rate (AR), and speech rate (SR). The results showed that in voice quality-related measurements, F0 was higher for the elderly and voice quality was diminished, as indicated by increased jitter, shimmer, and lower CPP levels. Speech fluency analysis also demonstrated that the elderly spoke more slowly, as indicated by all ASD, AR, and SR measurements. Correlation analysis between voice quality and speech fluency showed a significant relationship between shimmer and CPP values and between ASD and SR values. This suggests that changes in spoken fluency can be identified early by measuring the variations in voice quality. This study further highlights the reciprocal relationship between voice quality and spoken fluency, emphasizing that deterioration in one can affect the other.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.95-102
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• 2008

Multiple physical changes of the larynx and its components occur with age. Vocal pitch, commonly expressed through measures of fundamental frequency (Fo) relate to physical conditions of the larynx. Available data is lacking for the senescent voice, and should be applied to the of changes of elderly speakers' Fo characteristics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Fo of normal elderly speaker's voice. A total of 406 normal elderly speakers (207 males and 199 females) participated in this experiment. Age ranged from 60 years to 89 years. The subjects were asked to produce sustained corner vowels (/a/ /i/ /u/) three times each and the data were analyzed using the MDVP of CSL. According to the results of this study, the mean Fo from the ages of 60's to 80's shows 143.95Hz(SD 13.94) for men and 185.42Hz (SD 15.29) for women. For men, a significant change is found as a function of age in the Fo (F=16.181, p<.05). A post-hoc Scheffe test revealed significant differences between the Fo data of subjects aged 60's and 70's, 60's and 80's. For women, a significant change is found as a function of age in the Fo (F=49.013, p<.05). A post-hoc $Scheff'{e}$ test revealed significant differences between the Fo data of subjects in their 60's and 70's, 70's and 80's, 60's and 80's. The Fo of men goes up from their 60's to 80's gradually, whereas the Fo of women goes down gradually until their 70's, and after their 70's it again increases. It has been known that diminishing estrogen levels in women in old age may be a factor in lowering Fo, whereas diminishing testosterone levels in men may contribute to a rising Fo. This result may be used as some meaningful guideline and lead the basic data to differentiate between normal aged voice and aged voice disorders.

• Korean Journal of Artificial Intelligence
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2022

In this paper, the research and development aim to strengthen the digital accessibility of the elderly by developing a kiosk incorporating AI voice recognition technology that can replace the promotional signage currently being installed and spread in the elderly and social welfare centers most frequently used by the digital underprivileged. It was intended to develop a converged system for the use of bulletin board functions, educational functions, and welfare center facilities, and to seek ways to increase the user's digital device experience through direct experience and education. Through interviews and surveys of senior citizens and social welfare centers, it was intended to collect problems and pain Points that the elderly currently experience in the process of using kiosks and apply them to the development process, and improve problems through pilot services. Through this study, it was confirmed that voice recognition technology is 2 to 6 times faster than keyboard input, so it is helpful for the elderly who are not familiar with device operation. However, it is necessary to improve the problem that there is a difference in the accuracy of the recognition rate according to the surrounding environment with noise. Through small efforts such as this study, we hope that the elderly will be a little free from digital alienation.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.9-14
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• 2024

This study developed a voice recognition chatbot system to address depression and loneliness among the elderly in an aging society. The system utilizes the Whisper model, GPT 2.5, and XTTS2 to provide high-performance voice recognition, natural language processing, and text-to-speech conversion. Users can express their emotions and states and receive appropriate responses, with voice recognition functionality using familiar voices for comfort and reassurance. The UX/UI design considers the cognitive responses, visual impairments, and physical limitations of the smart senior generation, using high contrast colors and readable fonts for enhanced usability. This research is expected to improve the quality of life for the elderly through voice-based interfaces.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.380-387
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• 2011

This study was to investigate the effects of music-combined respiration and oral motor training on the voice of healthy elderly. 27 women attending a senior center in Seoul participated and were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 16) and the control group (n = 11). Subjects attended music program(25 minutes per session) once a week for 4 weeks. For both groups, Fundamental Frequency (F0), Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) and Sequential Motion Rates (SMR) were measured using the Praat speech analysis program before and after the training. The results showed statistical significance in scores of intensity, F0, MPT, and SMR in the experimental group while only intensity was statistically significant in the control group. Considering that, the increasing life expectancy and growing number of older adults, their quality of life has been important. So this study suggests that the respiration and oral motor training would be effectively incorporated into training and services for this population.