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SPEECH DIGITALIZATION, CODING, AND NASAL(IZED) VOWEL SYNTHESIS: DEMONSTRATION WITH BETI, A CRITICALLY ENDANGERED LANGUAGE
Get PDFIt is estimated that 40% of world languages are endangered and that some will go extinct in the near future. There is not enough funding nor interest to preserve all of them. In response to this crisis, experts are experimenting with speech synthesis in the hope of reviving some of them. Their goal is to digitalize these languages and use processing methods similar to those used for Siri and Alexa. This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities in doing so. Beti, (ISO: 639-3-eot), a critically endangered language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, is used in this demonstration. The topics covered include speech digitalization, acoustic phonetic feature extraction, and speech coding. The techniques for synthesizing nasal and nasalized vowels are given careful attention because nasal and nasalized vowels constitute formidable challenges for speech synthesis
ACOUSTIC PHONETIC ANALYSIS OF VIETNAMESE-ACCENTED ENGLISH VOWELS IN RUNNING SPEECH
Get PDFMcCrum (2010:285) claims that English has now attained the status of a global language. He therefore coined the term “Globish” to describe the vast reach of English around the globe. He also notes that “Globish will remain the means by which an educated minority of the planet communicates.” On page 232, he attributes the expanding influence of English to capitalism, “The more global capitalism boomed, the more English developed as its preferred medium of communication: contagious, adaptable, populist and subversive. … A global information network, and a global market, require a global language, but one that is not, overtly, the instrument of empire.” The forces that have spread English around the world are the same that are spreading it now to Vietnam. Yet, Vietnamese-accented English (VAE) has been singled out as one of the most difficult to understand. In this paper, we examine why by focusing on the acoustic phonetic characteristics of vowels produced by VAE speakers. Vowels are singled out for investigation because they contribute in no small measure to (un)intelligibility
St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 24, No. 2 - Podcast
No full textSt. Cloud State University School of Public Affairs Dean King Banaian provided an in-person and virtual review of the June 2022 Quarterly Business Report at St. Cloud City Hall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. St. Cloud area unemployment reached its lowest point since measurement began in 1990, registering at 1.8% in April 2022. Area economic growth was very strong in the months leading out of the Omicron wave of the pandemic, with a majority of survey respondents reporting higher business activity in the February to April period. Over 70% reported paying higher wages and charging higher prices for their goods and services. 5 of 6 leading indicators were positive. In special questions, more than 70% of surveyed businesses did not lay off workers but of those that did a majority did not return many of them to their payrolls. Regional data showed that continuing unemployment insurance claims in 2022 were higher in both accommodation and food services and in health care and social assistance. It was lower in manufacturing and wholesale trade.https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/scqbr_video/1010/thumbnail.jp
Towards Infinity, Another Mile
Get PDFWhat does it take to be at the crossroads and crossing over with a sense of clarity and conviction? A juncture of being and non-being? To not merely survive or thrive but revive an expanded state of consciousness. No longer seeking to unravel the mystery as much as to simply live it. An insight of what one seeks is very much within oneself, the deepest treasures, and the zenith of one’s existence. Another lifetime feels another side of oneself and the manifestation of the newer version of ourselves is here and now as we move along another mile
Teachers’ Perceptions of School Academic Optimism in a Private Middle School in Niamey, Niger
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the practices of academic optimism in Niamey (Niger). The study used a non-experimental survey research design. School Academic Optimism Scale (SAOS), a 30-items Likert-type scale, developed by Hoy (2005) was utilized to collect the quantitative data from a small sample (14 middle school teachers). In this study using a French translated version of SAOS with 28-items Likert-type scale, an overall and strong reliability (α=0.83) was demonstrated for the three subconstructs of academic optimism. The WhatsApp application was utilized to administer the survey via Qualtrics software. The study used basic descriptive statistics to determine the extent the practices of the components of academic optimism (collective teacher efficacy, faculty trust in parents and students, and academic emphasis) are perceived by teachers.
A total of 13 middle school teachers completed the survey resulting in 93% of response rate. Using a six-point rating scale, the results of the survey indicated a combined mean score of 5.40 for teachers’ self-report perceived practices of collective teacher efficacy and eight of the 10 items of this subconstruct were rated five (Agree) to six (Mostly Agree). Next, using the same six-point rating scale, teachers’ self-report perceived practices of faculty trust displayed a combined mean of 4.80 and nine of 10 items were rated four (Somewhat Agree) to five (Agree). Finally, using a four-point rating scale, teachers’ self-report perceived practices of academic emphasis demonstrated a combined mean score of 3.40 and seven of the eight items of this subconstruct were rated three (often) to approximately four (Very Often).
According to the School Academic Optimism Scale (SAOS), this study found overall high perceptions of practices of collective teacher efficacy, faculty trust in students and parents, and academic emphasis. The high perceptions of academic optimism support the assumption of a relationship between a culture of high performing private schools such as the one in this study and the culture of academic optimism
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices and Their Effectiveness as Elements of Early Intervention
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Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for Elementary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Get PDFThe use of behavioral interventions based on the tenets of positive reinforcement is a foundational element of educational programs for students with disabilities in general and for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in particular. This review will examine Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) that school districts implement. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and related terms will be defined both operationally and theoretically. In addition, the historical antecedents of how PBIS will be examined. Current models of PBIS will be investigated. The best practices associated with initiating and maintaining PBIS will be reviewed. Although school-wide PBIS programs are used with students who have disabilities and with their peers who do not have disabilities, the review will be completed with a specific focus on students who exhibit emotional and behavior disorders
Relations Among Nocturnal Enuresis and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Get PDFMyriad studies have addressed the relation between nocturnal enuresis and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The association has been documented in both sexes. This review examines the constructs of childhood ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and nocturnal enuresis, viz., bed-wetting. Three foci guide the analysis. First, biological and psychological models of nocturnal enuresis are compared and contrasted. Second, issues arising from construct definition are addressed. Third, the methods, technologies, and operating tenets used in the studies are examined. The review is purposefully delimited to studies and research published during the 20th and 21st centuries
