[AUDITORY] Competitively funded PhD project on accessibility in processed audio, University of Manchester

Subject: [AUDITORY] Competitively funded PhD project on accessibility in processed audio, University of Manchester

From: Michael Stone <michael.stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2020 08:43:04 +0000

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Reply-to: Michael Stone <michael.stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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Thread-topic: Competitively funded PhD project on accessibility in processed audio, University of Manchester

"Enhancing the accessibility of speech used in broadcast media for an ageing population"

A competitively funded 4-year PhD studentship is being offered at the University of Manchester under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Millman and Dr. Michael Stone. The project involves collaboration and short-term placements (in the first year of the PhD), with Prof. Trevor Cox and Dr Ben Shirley at the nearby University of Salford, as well as with Dr Matt Paradis at the British Broadcasting Corporation Research and Development group, also based in Salford.

The accessibility of online and broadcast media is crucial for older peoples’ engagement with society, but complaints about unintelligible speech in such contexts have increased in recent years. A number of factors contribute to the intelligibility of reproduced speech including; clarity of speech delivery, balance between individual sub-mixes and the effects of reproduction equipment. Past research has focused on clinical measures of hearing disability and the benefit of interventions on task accuracy (i.e. whether people can accurately recognise speech). But this overlooks a vital issue: cognitive (listening) effort. If the listening effort required for successful listening is too great, then listeners will disengage and switch off.

We will use a multi-modal approach, including subjective, behavioural and physiological (pupillometry and electroencephalography) metrics, to quantify the intelligibility of reproduced speech and the listening effort required to engage with reproduced speech. The outcomes of this project will inform the development of alternate mixes for individualised content to improve accessibility for older people.

More details of the project are given here:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/bbsrc-dtp-enhancing-the-accessibility-of-speech-used-in-broadcast-media-for-an-ageing-population/?p124975

N.B. Please read "Funding Notes" on findaphd.com if you are a non-UK applicant.

The deadline for the receipt of applications is Sunday 31 January 2021. Formal applications must be made through the University of Manchester's online application form (see "Making an application"):

https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/bbsrc-dtp/

If, after reading the above links, you would like to discuss the project further, please contact either

rebecca.millman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

michael.stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We strongly encourage potential applicants to contact the supervisors before making a formal application.

sincerely

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr Michael Stone, Senior Research Fellow in Audiology / Hearing Sciences

Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness

School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Ellen Wilkinson Building, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

Tel: +44 161 275 8563, Fax: +44 161 275 3373.

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