Dialogue based interfaces for universal access.

Conversation provides an excellent means of communication for almost all people. Consequently, a conversational interface is an excellent mechanism for allowing people to interact with systems. Conversational systems are an active research area, but a wide range of systems can be developed with current technology. More sophisticated interfaces can take considerable effort, but simple interfaces can be developed quite rapidly. This paper gives an introduction to the current state of the art of conversational systems and interfaces. It describes a methodology for developing conversational interfaces and gives an example of an interface for a state benefits web site. The paper discusses how this interface could improve access for a wide range of people, and how further development of this interface would allow a larger range of people to use the system and give them more functionality

Linking Parliamentary Minutes and Videos in the Japanese Diet

This paper offers an overview of the video retrieval system we have developed for the Japanese Diet. With our video retrieval system one can directly retrieve the video feed segment of interest, gain a visual understanding of the flow of parliamentary debate, and check the facial expressions and body language of the speaker. In this paper, we demonstrate how one can retrieve video streaming on user terminals that do not support Japanese language input, and suggest a variety of ways in which our video retrieval system can be utilized. Also, we report a preliminary analysis on the correspondence between the official minutes and the results of speech recognition of recordings of parliamentary meetings. We believe that our system encourages research on the utilization of visual information in policy-making and marks a step toward the provision of universal access to policy information.This work is supported by JSPS Kakenhi Grant Number 15H05727 and the Diet Archives Project funded by the GRIPS Policy Research Center.An earlier version (Masuyama 2016b) was presented at the 2016 General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, September 7-10, 2016.http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/masuyama_mikitaka

Heat of Discussion: A New Approach to Understanding Parliamentary Discussion

This paper offers an overview of the video retrieval system we have developed for the Japanese Diet. With our video retrieval system one can directly retrieve the video feed segment of interest, gain a visual understanding of the flow of parliamentary debate, and check the facial expressions and body language of the speaker. In this paper, we demonstrate how one can retrieve video streaming on user terminals that do not support Japanese language input, and suggest a variety of ways in which our video retrieval system can be utilized. Also, we report a first systematic analysis on the correspondence between the official minutes and the results of speech recognition of recordings of parliamentary meetings. Departing from tradition of focusing on written official minutes, we investigate the variation in the rate of correspondence and understand complex and multifaceted nature of parliamentary discussion. We believe that our system encourages research on the utilization of visual information in policymaking and marks a step toward the provision of universal access to policy information.This work is supported by JSPS Kakenhi Grant Number 15H05727 and based on a paper prepared for presentation at the 25th IPSA World Congress of Political Science, Brisbane, Australia, July 21 - 26, 2018.http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/masuyama_mikitaka