Sonic Information Design for the Display of Proteomic Data

William L. Martens

A research project focusing on the sonification of proteomic data distributions provided the context for the current study of sonic information design, which was guided by multiple criteria emphasizing practical use as well as aesthetics. For this case, the auditory display of those sonifications would be judged useful if they were to enable listeners to hear differences in proteomic data associated with three different types of cells, one of which exhibited the neuropathology associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A primary concern was to ensure that meaningful patterns in the data would not be lost as the data were transformed into sound, and so three different data sonifications were designed, each of which attempted to capitalize upon human auditory capacities that complement the visual capacities engaged by more conventional graphic representations. One of the data sonifications was based upon the hypothesis that auditory sensitivity to regularities and irregularities in spatio-temporal patterns in the data could be heard through spatial distribution of sonic components. The design of a second sonification was based upon the hypothesis that variation in timbre of non-spatialized components might create a distinguishable sound for each of three types of cells. A third sonification was based upon the hypothesis that redundant variation in both timbral and spatial features of sonic components would be even more powerful as a means for identifying spatio-temporal patterns in the dynamic, multidimensional data generated in modern proteomic studies of ALS. This paper will focus upon the sound processing underlying the alternative sonifications that were examined in this case study of sonic information design.

1. Introduction	4. Results and Discussion
2. A Case Study of Proteomic Data Sonification	Biography
3. Sound Synthesis and Processing Methods	References

1. Introduction	4. Results and Discussion
2. A Case Study of Proteomic Data Sonification	Biography
3. Sound Synthesis and Processing Methods	References

Biography

William L. Martens received a Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University in 1991. Having served as a consultant to the audio industry in the 1990s, contributing to audio product development for corporations such as Intel and Creative Technologies, he worked within the Multimedia Systems Lab at the University of Aizu (1999–2003), and then at McGill University, where he served as Sound Recording Area Chair for the Schulich School of Music (2003–2008). In 2004 he joined the board of the International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD). For the Audio Engineering Society (AES) he has chaired the Technical Committee on Perception and Subjective Evaluation of Audio Signals. He currently serves as Associate Professor in Audio and Acoustics at the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning at The University of Sydney.

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