Abstract
The field of acoustic phonetics studies the transmission of speech sounds through the air from the speaker to the hearer and measures and analyzes the movement and vibration of the air. It defines categories of speech sounds that are used to form distinctions between words in languages. This paper shows that by looking at the anatomy and physiology of speech and analyzing sound waves and mechanisms, we can create many interesting and useful applications in the field of sound. It shows how we can look at the influence of context on speech sound production, as well as develop applications to help those with disabilities that impair their communication ability. The paper shows how acoustic phonetics is applied to communications disorders and mentions the problem in this field in which all the early sound spectrograph and wave-form editors focused on analysis of the male voice spectrum, leaving out disabled women.

From the Paper
"In theory we can talk about phonetics without reference to phonology which is the actual pronunciation of words and sentence, the regular patterning that occurs, and why the sound "ing" used at the end of the word "sing" for example, never occurs at the beginning of a word. But in fact, we can only truly define phonology in relation to phonetics, which deals with all speech sounds. Phonetics has taught us that although humans are capable of producing an enormous number of speech sounds, each language uses only some of the sounds available, and no two languages have exactly the same set of speech sounds. Even more interesting, each language organizes and makes use of sounds in its own particular way."

Tags:communications, disorders, male, voice, spectrum

Abstract
The following paper discusses acoustics signals that detect the presence and location of commercially useful fish, map the ocean floor to establish the safest paths for supertankers, explore the earth's geological formations and discover oil deposits in the ocean floor.

From the Paper
"At a bottom of the permanent thermocline or below it, water temperature is uniform. Here, the pressure of the water column due to the depth takes over. The sound speeds then increase on account of increase in pressure. (Pacific) The deep sound channel axis is between 600 and 1,200 m below the sea surface at low and middle latitudes. This is deepest in the subtropics and come to the surface in high latitudes, where sound propagates in the surface layer. (Pacific)
Sound waves can be "trapped" in the deep sound channel and propagate in long distances. This is because these waves go through little attenuation beyond that, and this is due to geometric scattering or spread as well as minor volume scattering in water."

Tags:environment, laboratory, amplitude, vibrations, particles, wavelength, distance, compression, wave, travels, single, cycle, vibration

Abstract
The term architectural acoustics refers to the creation of rooms or concert halls that provide musical sound of high quality. Acoustics are a challenge to all designers of concert halls. The architect aims for the best possible clarity of sound for a knowledgeable listener will hear immediately if the sound of a note is distorted by the interior of the place in which it is played.

Tags:design, concert, halls

Abstract
This paper examines architecture, acoustics and reflected sound. It explains how rooms and concert halls are designed to minimize reflected noise and enhance sound quality

Abstract
The following paper discusses elements such as room size, room composition, room shape, and the location of the listener and sound source, when designing theater acoustics. Finding the ultimate impulse response with testing is also discussed.

From the paper:

"It has been considered that gross errors in concert hall design are rarely due to use of the wrong absorption coefficients, as most of the materials used are highly reflective. A theater audience first hears sound generated from the source. Then they will hear attenuated bounces of sound off the walls. The sound is again and again reflected off the walls, resulting in total reverberation of the sound. In a large room such as a theater, reverberation time can be as long as four seconds."

Tags:impulse, response, mechanical, engineer, design, noise, absorption, coefficients, reverberation, time

Abstract
This paper is based on an article about muscle tension dysphonia and whether different acoustic measures worked. The primary goal was to research whether acoustic evidence exists for articulatory changes accompanying successful management of MTD. The researchers' goal was to determine whether targeting hyolaryngeal structures would lead to phonatory improvements and whether it affects changes to the supraglottal articulation. The researchers wanted to study whether manual circumlaryngeal techniques or acoustic techniques make a difference.

From the Paper
"The primary goal was to research whether acoustic evidence exists for articulatory changes accompanying successful management of MTD. The researchers' goal was to determine whether targeting hyolaryngeal structures would lead to phonatory improvements and whether it affects changes to the supraglottal articulation. The researchers wanted to study whether manual circumlaryngeal techniques or acoustic techniques make a..."

Tags:acoustic, articulatory, sysphonia

Abstract
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neuro-degenerative disorder producing deterioration of the motor cortex and motoneurons of the brainstem and spinal cord. In particular, patients are affected by the vulnerability of the cranial motoneurons that assist speech and swallowing. The disease usually leads to death in 3 to 5 years due to respiratory complications.

Tags:acoustics, perception speech

Abstract
This essay will discuss the various considerations that go into the design of a room or concert hall with the aim of producing acoustically enhanced sound and music quality. In general, the sound levels that can be heard by the human ear is between the range of 20 to 20,000 Hz.

Abstract
Richard Cavell tackles one of the all-time greats of communication theory in his article on "McLuhan and Spatial Communication." The paper explains that Marshall McLuhan was one of the great prophets (some would say charlatans) of early communication theory. For a long time he was one of one of the only celebrities of the field and toured wildly to give his opinions on the subject. They were certainly opinions worth hearing, for he had some remarkably new and insightful things to say about media, communication, and the way in which technology affects human development. The paper shows, however, that within the scope of his own lifetime, he went from spokesman to outcast and academia widely turned against him. Before his death his saw the school he had founded shut down and his work widely discredited. Since the rise of the Internet, however, the development of other, new forms of entertainment and media, McLuhanism has enjoyed something of an academic comeback. It is with this background in mind that the paper approaches Cavell's work on McLuhan, for much of his essay deals with presenting an explanation for McLuhan's disenfranchisement from and eventual re-adoption by the academic community. According to Cavell's central thesis, McLuhan's anomalous position and his lasting durability within the field of communications theory both spring from his "elaboration of a spatial model of communication... based on the notion of acoustic space... situated within the spatial bias of postmodernist thought."

From the Paper
"Cavell's failure to bring up the way in which McLuhan's theories on space have been substantiated through current technological advances is an important one. Cavell explains in great length the way that McLuhan's theories draw from the history of technological development to explain the development of various forms of consciousness and space. Yet in explaining McLuhan's continued relevance, he somehow fails to take the logical step and relate McLuhan's dynamic space to what is today commonly called "cyberspace." Many theorists of the digital revolution look to McLuhan as one of the greatest prophets and thinkers of the Internet Revolution, having discussed its many complications and impacts years before it even existed. Paul Levinson explains that it is the Internet, not TV, that best fulfills the role of the media in creating the acoustic space described by McLuhan."

Tags:cyberspace, internet, acoustic, space

Abstract
This paper introduces and discusses pile tests methods - pile-load tests and integrity tests. The integrity tests include the acoustic test and the seismic test method. For each test the procedure and interpretation are discussed. Real-world cases are investigated and pictures are presented. Advantages and disadvantages of each method are concluded in the end.

From the Paper
"In carrying out a maintained load test to determine the load capacity of a pile, it is suggested that it is necessary first to estimate the load capacity so that a suitable loading and reaction system may be provided, and then to define some physical event by which "failure", and hence the ultimate capacity of the pile may be recognized. Among the commonly used definitions of the ultimate load capacity are: First--The load that causes a settlement equal to 10% of the pile diameter. Second The load at which the rate of settlement continues undiminished without further increment of load, unless this rate is so slow as to indicate that settlement may be a result of consideration of the soil. For example, Qu in Figure 2 could be taken as the ultimate load."

Tags:acoustic, maintained, seismic, construction, foundation, engineering