Day-to-day Variability of Stuttering

Variability has long been known to be a primary feature of the disorder of stuttering (Bloodstein & Bernstein Ratner, 2008; Costello & Ingham, 1984; Yaruss, 1997a, 1997b). Many factors that affect variability have been investigated (Brown, 1937; Johnson & Brown, 1935; Quarrington, Conway, & Siegel, 1962) yet the typical range of variability experienced by speakers remains unknown. This study will examine the speech of six adult speakers in three spontaneous speaking situations and two reading tasks. The frequency, duration, and types of stuttered events that occur on the tasks will be compared within and between speakers. The focus will be on describing variability in stuttering frequency and duration within speakers and attempting to detect consistent patterns between speakers

WEB-BASED LECTURES IN THE STUDIES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL PEDAGOGY – VIEWS, ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS

This research aims to discover students' views, attitudes and intentions in the early childhood education concerning web-based lectures. It examines whether students develop positive or negative attitudes, if they identify added value and how their intentions are shaped. It also detects difficulties and possible barriers that they encountered. At the same time, is examined whether their attitudes are correlated with the variables of the degree of familiarity with technology and the year of studies. The survey involved 277 students who attended part of their course through two web-based lectures. The survey used a researcher-made questionnaire for the detection of attitudes, while quantitative data was obtained which was also combined with qualitative ones. Results show that students develop a positive attitude and intentions about web-based lectures. They recognize and appreciate the added value of web-based teaching. Both the variables, degree of familiarity with technology and the year of studies appeared to determine the formation of their attitudes positively. However, this positive assessment was made in relation to the traditional face to face classroom lecture, and only in the perspective of its partial replacement.  Article visualizations

Social Interactions in Immersive Virtual Environments: People, Agents, and Avatars

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) have received increased popularity with applications in many fields. IVEs aim to approximate real environments, and to make users react similarly to how they would in everyday life. An important use case is the users-virtual characters (VCs) interaction. We interact with other people every day, hence we expect others to appropriately act and behave, verbally and non-verbally (i.e., pitch, proximity, gaze, turn-taking). These expectations also apply to interactions with VCs in IVEs, and this thesis tackles some of these aspects. We present three projects that inform the area of social interactions with a VC in IVEs, focusing on non-verbal behaviours. In our first study on interactions between people, we collaborated with the Social Neuroscience group at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience from UCL on a dyad multi-modal interaction. This aims to understand the conversation dynamics, focusing on gaze and turn-taking. The results show that people have a higher frequency of gaze change (from averted to direct and vice versa) when they are being looked at compared to when they are not. When they are not being looked at, they are also directing their gaze to their partners more compared to when they are being looked at. Another contribution of this work is the automated method of annotating speech and gaze data. Next, we consider agents’ higher-level non-verbal behaviours, covering social attitudes. We present a pipeline to collect data and train a machine learning (ML) model that detects social attitudes in a user-VC interaction. Here we collaborated with two game studios: Dream Reality Interaction and Maze Theory. We present a case study for the ML pipeline on social engagement recognition for the Peaky Blinders narrative VR game from Maze Theory studio. We use a reinforcement learning algorithm with imitation learning rewards and a temporal memory element. The results show that the model trained with raw data does not generalise and performs worse (60% accuracy) than the one trained with socially meaningful data (83% accuracy). In IVEs, people embody avatars and their appearance can impact social interactions. In collaboration with Microsoft Research, we report a longitudinal study in mixed-reality on avatar appearance in real-work meetings between co-workers comparing personalised full-body realistic and cartoon avatars. The results imply that when participants use realistic avatars first, they may have higher expectations and they perceive their colleagues’ emotional states with less accuracy. Participants may also become more accustomed to cartoon avatars as time passes and the overall use of avatars may lead to less accurately perceiving negative emotions. The work presented here contributes towards the field of detecting and generating nonverbal cues for VCs in IVEs. These are also important building blocks for creating autonomous agents for IVEs. Additionally, this work contributes to the games and work industry fields through an immersive ML pipeline for detecting social attitudes and through insights into using different avatar styles over time in real-world meetings

Learning Multimodal Temporal Representation for Dubbing Detection in Broadcast Media

Person discovery in the absence of prior identity knowledge requires accurate association of visual and auditory cues. In broadcast data, multimodal analysis faces additional challenges due to narrated voices over muted scenes or dubbing in different languages. To address these challenges, we define and analyze the problem of dubbing detection in broadcast data, which has not been explored before. We propose a method to represent the temporal relationship between the auditory and visual streams. This method consists of canonical correlation analysis to learn a joint multimodal space, and long short term memory (LSTM) networks to model cross-modality temporal dependencies. Our contributions also include the introduction of a newly acquired dataset of face-speech segments from TV data, which we have made publicly available. The proposed method achieves promising performance on this real world dataset as compared to several baselines

A large, crowdsourced evaluation of gesture generation systems on common data : the GENEA Challenge 2020

Co-speech gestures, gestures that accompany speech, play an important role in human communication. Automatic co-speech gesture generation is thus a key enabling technology for embodied conversational agents (ECAs), since humans expect ECAs to be capable of multi-modal communication. Research into gesture generation is rapidly gravitating towards data-driven methods. Unfortunately, individual research efforts in the field are difficult to compare: there are no established benchmarks, and each study tends to use its own dataset, motion visualisation, and evaluation methodology. To address this situation, we launched the GENEA Challenge, a gesture-generation challenge wherein participating teams built automatic gesture-generation systems on a common dataset, and the resulting systems were evaluated in parallel in a large, crowdsourced user study using the same motion-rendering pipeline. Since differences in evaluation outcomes between systems now are solely attributable to differences between the motion-generation methods, this enables benchmarking recent approaches against one another in order to get a better impression of the state of the art in the field. This paper reports on the purpose, design, results, and implications of our challenge.Part of Proceedings: ISBN 978-145038017-1QC 20210607</p

Desenvolvimento de instrumentos de avaliação para adultos com perturbação de fluência

Doutoramento em PsicologiaNo presente estudo foram desenvolvidos dois instrumentos (Severity Assessment Based on Events of Stuttering – SABES; Assessment of Language Use in Social Contexts for Adults – ALUSCA), para avaliar adultos que gaguejam (AQG). Os instrumentos foram desenvolvidos com base na adaptação da Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Saúde (CIF) ao estudo da gaguez. Foi ainda realizada a tradução e adaptação cultural de um questionário (Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering – POSHA-S) que tem como finalidade a determinação das atitudes da sociedade relativamente à gaguez e às pessoas que gaguejam. O instrumento SABES avalia a gravidade da gaguez através da avaliação da frequência, duração, comportamentos associados, grau de tensão e naturalidade de cada momento de gaguez, em quatro amostras de fala, através do uso de um software de anotação. Foi determinada a validade de conteúdo, a consistência interna e a validade de construto do instrumento SABES. A validade de conteúdo foi analisada através de um processo de duas etapas. O estudo piloto foi conduzido com 5 AQG para analisar a praticabilidade dos procedimentos. A consistência interna foi analisada através do alfa de Cronbach. Os procedimentos do SABES foram aplicados a 92 amostras de fala para determinar a validade de critério e a validade de construto. Relativamente à validade de conteúdo, os instrumentos sistematicamente revistos para esta Tese avaliam entre 1 e 7 tipos de medidas comportamentais. As tabelas de conteúdo desenvolvidas revelaram que a maioria dos instrumentos de avaliação mede a frequência dos momentos de gaguez em percentagem de palavras gaguejadas, a duração em quantidade de tempo/unidades de repetição, os comportamentos associados utilizando descritores qualitativos/lista com diferentes tipos e os tipos de disfluência utilizando diferentes classificações; o grau de tensão e a naturalidade são avaliados apenas pelos dois mais recentes instrumentos desenvolvidos para avaliar a gravidade da gaguez. A análise quantitativa e qualitativa revelou desacordo entre os peritos consultados relativamente à clareza, simplicidade e precisão das instruções para recolha das amostras de fala. A consistência interna encontra-se garantida, uma vez que o resultado obtido para cada amostra de fala ultrapassa o cut-off de 0.7. Foi obtida uma significante e larga correlação entre o resultado do SABES e um critério externo. O constructo subjacente à construção do SABES foi manifestado pela contribuição singular de cada medida comportamental, revelado através da existência de uma correlação entre 0.30 e 0.70. Através dos resultados obtidos é possível concluir que o SABES é um instrumento que apresenta evidências de fiabilidade e de validade de conteúdo, construto e critério. O ALUSCA é um questionário que estima o efeito dos fatores ambientais em adultos, especificamente no que diz respeito à auto-perceção do nível de facilidade na utilização de competências pragmáticas de linguagem numa troca comunicativa difícil. Foram determinadas a validade de conteúdo, realizada análise de itens e obtidos coeficientes de fiabilidade e de validade de construto. O estudo piloto foi conduzido com 5 AQG e 5 controlos com vista à análise dos itens e ao cálculo de coeficientes de fiabilidade. Evidências de validade de construto foram obtidas através da aplicação do questionário ALUSCA a 28 AQG e a 28 controlos, utilizando análise fatorial e o método de relações hipotéticas. Relativamente à validade de conteúdo, os questionários revistos analisam um máximo de 12 competências pragmáticas de linguagem. A análise quantitativa e qualitativa revelou ambiguidades na construção de alguns itens. O estudo piloto permitiu concluir que o instrumento apresenta bons níveis de consistência interna e estabilidade temporal. As diferenças significativas entre os resultados do ALUSCA dos AQG e dos controlos, bem como os diferentes perfis de resposta revelaram o construto subjacente à construção do ALUSCA. Pode ser concluído que o ALUSCA é um questionário fiável e que apresenta evidências de validade de construto. A tradução e adaptação cultural do POSHA-S contribuiu para a determinação das atitudes e conhecimento do público relativamente à gaguez, através de uma amostragem probabilística de um país (Portugal). O POSHA-S foi traduzido para Português-Europeu através de um processo de 5 etapas. A amostra (N=311) foi obtida através de uma amostragem probabilística por clusters (em três estádios). As atitudes da população portuguesa encontram-se na sua maioria entre os percentis 25-75. As variáveis demográficas que predisseram atitudes mais positivas foram a idade, a região, anos de escolaridade completados, situação profissional e número de línguas faladas. As variáveis demográficas que não predisseram atitudes mais positivas foram o género, o estado civil e a paternidade. Pode ser concluído que a maioria das atitudes da população portuguesa se encontram acima da média, quando comparada com a amostra total. O esquema de probabilidade utilizado permitiu a generalização dos achados. Os instrumentos desenvolvidos serão parte de um processo de avaliação multidimensional de um AQG. Os procedimentos do SABES contribuirão para a determinação da gravidade dos comportamentos observáveis de gaguez de forma precisa. O questionário de auto-avaliação ALUSCA proporcionará a obtenção de informação precisa relativamente ao impacto das exigências pragmáticas em AQG. As atitudes da sociedade e o conhecimento acerca da gaguez serão essenciais para informar e melhorar o conhecimento da situação de um AQG numa perspetiva ampla, contribuindo para o processo de dessensibilização quanto às atitudes dos interlocutores.In this study two assessment instruments (Severity Assessment Based on Events of Stuttering – SABES; Assessment of Language Use in Social Contexts for Adults – ALUSCA), were developed with the aim to assess adults who stutter (AWS), based on an adaptation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to the study of stuttering. A questionnaire used internationally to assess society attitudes toward stuttering (Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering – POSHA-S) was also translated and cross-cultural adapted to Portuguese. The SABES assess severity through the measurement of frequency, duration, associated behaviours, tension degree and naturalness of each stuttering moment in four speech samples based on an annotation software. Content validity, internal consistency and evidences of construct and criterion validity were determined. The content validity was analysed using a two stage process. A pilot study was conducted with five AWS to analyse the feasibility of SABES procedures. Internal consistency was analysed through Cronbach’s alpha. The SABES procedures were applied to 92 speech samples to assess criterion and construct validity. Related to content validity, the instruments systematically reviewed for this Thesis assessed between one and seven types of speech behavioural measures. Tables of content revealed that the majority of the instruments measure frequency in terms of percentage of stuttered words, duration in amount of time/repetition units, associated behaviours with qualitative descriptors/list type and types of disfluencies using different classifications; tension degree and naturalness were assessed solely by the two most recent severity instruments. Qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed disagreements between experts concerning clarity, simplicity and accuracy of the speech sample collection instructions. Internal consistency was guaranteed, as the result for each speech sample was higher than the cut-off threshold of 0.7. A significant and large correlation between SABES total score and an external criterion was found. The SABES’ underlying construct was revealed by the singular contribution of each behavioural measure, as shown by a useful degree correlation (i.e., between 0.30 and 0.70). It could be concluded that SABES is a reliable and presented evidences of content, construct and criterion validity. The ALUSCA estimates the effects of environmental factors on adults, specifically related to the self-perception of the level of ease in using pragmatic language competencies (PLC) on a difficult communicative exchange. Content validity analysis, item analysis, reliability coefficients and evidences of construct validity were analysed. The content validity was analysed using a two stage process. A pilot study was conducted with five AWS and five controls to analyse items and to calculate reliability coefficients. Construct validity evidences were obtained through ALUSCA application to 28 AWS and 28 controls, using the hypothesised relationships method and factor analysis. Concerning content validity, the questionnaires reviewed assessed up to twelve PLC. Qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed ambiguities in items construction. The pilot study showed that the instrument presented internal consistency and temporal stability. Significant differences between AWS and controls, and different response profiles revealed ALUSCA’s underlying construct. It could be concluded that ALUSCA is a reliable and presented evidences of construct validity. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the POSHA-S contributed to the determination of public attitudes and knowledge toward stuttering in a probability sampling of an entire country. The POSHA-S was translated to European Portuguese through a five-step process. A sample (N= 311) was collected through a three-stage cluster probability sampling, with a local administrative office-based. The attitudes of the Portuguese population were generally in the interquartile range. The demographic variables that predicted more positive stuttering attitudes were respondents’ age, region of the country, years of school completed, working situation, and number of languages spoken. Non-predicting variables were respondents’ sex, marital status, and parental status. It could be concluded that the majority of attitudes of the Portuguese population fell in the interquartile, meaning that POSHA-S scores were about average, compared with the total data sample. The probability sampling scheme used allows the generalization of the findings. The instruments developed will be part of a broader and multidimensional assessment process of an AWS. The SABES procedures will contribute to the accuracy of the severity determination. Information collected through the self-assessment ALUSCA questionnaire will provide accurate information regarding the impact of pragmatic demands on AWS. The society attitudes and knowledge toward stuttering will be essential to inform and improve the understanding of an AWS’s situation in a broader perspective, contributing to the desensitization process concerning other’s communication attitudes

Letting Katz Out of the Bag: Cognitive Freedom and Fourth Amendment Fidelity

Emerging surveillance technologies now allow operators to collect information located within the brain of an individual, allow the collection of forensic evidence regarding cerebral and cognitive processes, and are even beginning to be able to predict human intentions. While science has not yet produced a mind-reading machine per se, the devices referred to as cognitive camera technologies are substantial steps in the direction of that inevitable result. One such technique, a proprietary method called Brain Fingerprinting, is used as an example of the strong trend towards increasingly invasive and ever more powerful surveillance methods, and provides an entrée to a discussion of the limitations, if any, that the constitution might impose on such methods. The article then outlines three basic frameworks used by the Supreme Court in its Fourth Amendment jurisprudence that might be used to determine whether official use of cognitive camera technologies would pass constitutional muster, and concludes with the suggestion that no one of the three available frameworks would create a significant obstacle to the exploitation of these techniques or to the use of the collected information in legal proceedings. The Fourth Amendment\u27s failure in this regard is demonstrated by reference to underlying, socially-constructed norms regarding freedom of thought and cognitive autonomy. The article samples the fields of social psychology and Cartesian philosophy, theology, and democratic political theory in order to weave together what may be called a social consensus on the place, importance, and substance of free and unfettered cognitive liberty - the right to be left alone in one\u27s head, the right to create a social persona using particular and unique identity vectors, and the right to think and imagine what we wish without the possible threat of observation. The inability of the Fourth Amendment to preserve that kind of freedom, which our society has always cherished, and which by consensus we agree must be protected against interference, presents an opportunity to suggest that a new orienting principle should motivate our Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. The remainder of the article is spent outlining that new principle and deeply engaging the various constitutional interpretive theories that might support if not command adherence to this modified Fourth Amendment approach. The author thus seeks to make a connection between technological development, surveillance and Fourth Amendment liberty, and attends to the ways in which our burgeoning surveillance society poses a threat to the very core of what we think it means to be human

Letting Katz out of the Bag: Cognitive Freedom and Fourth Amendment Fidelity

What would life be like if it became impossible to keep a secret? We may find out with the advent of a new technology called Brain Fingerprinting and other technologies that allow access to our very thoughts. This Article first discusses the advent of technology like Brain Fingerprinting and its kin, and their impact on cognitive autonomy. The Article then posits the question, what would the Constitution have to say about evidentiary inquiries into the mind through the use of such technology? The author argues that current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, including Katz v. United States, is inadequate to address such a question, and concludes with a call to reevaluate our understanding of the Fourth Amendment and to seek alternative methods that offer more satisfying resolution of these issues

Sensing, Understanding, and Shaping Social Behavior

The ability to understand social systems through the aid of computational tools is central to the emerging field of computational social systems. Such understanding can answer epistemological questions on human behavior in a data-driven manner, and provide prescriptive guidelines for persuading humans to undertake certain actions in real-world social scenarios. The growing number of works in this subfield has the potential to impact multiple walks of human life including health, wellness, productivity, mobility, transportation, education, shopping, and sustenance. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, we provide a functional survey of recent advances in sensing, understanding, and shaping human behavior, focusing on real-world behavior of users as measured using passive sensors. Second, we present a case study on how trust, which is an important building block of computational social systems, can be quantified, sensed, and applied to shape human behavior. Our findings suggest that:1) trust can be operationalized and predicted via computational methods (passive sensing and network analysis) and 2) trust has a significant impact on social persuasion; in fact, it was found to be significantly more effective than the closeness of ties in determining the amount of behavior change.U.S. Army Research Laboratory (Cooperative Agreement W911NF-09-2-0053