Vowel recognition using Kohonen\u27s self-organizing feature maps

An important organizing principle observed in the sensory pathways in the brain is the orderly placement of neurons. Although the neurons are structurally identical, the specialized role played by each unit is determined by its internal parameters that are made to change during early learning processes. In the human auditory system, the nerve cells and fibres are arranged in a manner that would elicit maximum response from the neurons when they are activated. Although most of this organization is genetically determined, some of the high level organization is created due to algorithms that promote self-organization. Kohonen\u27s self-organizing feature map is a neural net model that produces feature maps similar to the ones produced in the brain. These maps are capable of describing topological relationships of input signals using a one or two dimensional representation. This technique uses unlabeled data and requires no training as in supervised learning algorithms. It is hence immensely useful in speech and vision applications. This neutral net has been implemented for the recognition of vowels in the American English language. The net has been trained and tested with vowel data. The formation of internal clusters or categories has been observed and closely reflects the tonotopic relationships between the vowels. An analysis of the results has been carried out and the performance has been compared to other classification techniques. A graphical user interface has also been developed using Xview to help visualize the formation of the maps during the training and testing processes

Spartan Daily, October 31, 1994

Volume 103, Issue 42https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/8612/thumbnail.jp

Reading intervention support for the older struggling reader : a desk-reference for reading interventions

Reading interventions for the older student are a topic of discussion in school districts, especially when an increasing number of middle schools and high schools are in need of improvement in the area of reading. Because of this increase in literacy concern in the middle and high schools, there is a need to better understand areas of reading that would assist struggling adolescent readers. Research affirms the importance of including intervention assistance in the upper grades. Research indicates key areas to target: structures and features of text, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, writing and technology, as well as the incorporation of reading motivation

Spartan Daily, December 4, 1991

Volume 97, Issue 64https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/8201/thumbnail.jp

Acoustical user identification based on MFCC analysis of keystrokes

This paper introduces a novel approach of person identification using acoustical monitoring of typing the required word on the monitored keyboard. This experiment was motivated by the idea of COST IC1106 (Integrating Biometrics and Forensics for the Digital Age) partners to acoustically analyse the captured keystroke dynamics database using widely used time-invariant mathematical models tools. The MFCC (Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients) and HMM (Hidden Markov Models) was introduced in this experiment, which gives promising results of 99.33% accuracy, when testing 25% of realizations (randomly selected from 100) identifying between 50 users/models. The experiment was repeated for different training/testing configurations and cross-validated, so this first approach could be a good starting point for next research including feature selection algorithms, biometric authentication score normalization, different audio & keyboard setup tests, et

Differentiation in the foreign language classroom : including students with disabilities in secondary foreign language classes

textForeign language teachers are not generally given information about how to work with students with disabilities. However, it is important for these students to have access to FL classes, both for the cognitive benefits that they offer and for path to higher education. This report offers my reflections on how to differentiate instruction in foreign language reading and writing to students with disabilities as well as typically developing students. I believe that both groups will benefit from the practices I describe here.Foreign Language Educatio

A Single-Subject Evaluation of Facilitated Communication in the Completion of School-Assigned Homework

Few projects have combined quantitative and qualitative approaches in the analysis of facilitated communication as did this study of a 17-year-old nonverbal autistic male responding to homework questions using facilitated communication. Findings were consistent with prior studies: Tim was minimally able to produce correct responses independent of facilitator influence under controlled conditions; whereas, at least some typed messages in the spontaneous narratives appear to be his authentic communications independent of facilitator control. An overview of the history of facilitated communication, its related research, and the heated debates around its validity are presented. Disparate findings between controlled and non-controlled circumstances are examined, first within a traditional paradigm, and then within the framework of the past decade’s sensorimotor and neuroimaging research. EEG, fMRI, and DTI neuroimaging studies indicate autism is a disorder of disrupted cerebral neural connectivity - specifically of long-range neural underconnectivity and short-range over- and, to a lesser degree, under-connectivity. Research linking these findings with the long-discounted sensorimotor behavioral research (and firsthand accounts) indicating aberrant sensory integration and motor planning processes are core features of autism has just begun. A key argument against advocates’ explanations for FC being authentic in some situations but not in others has been with their lack of a substantiating theory. Based on combined evidence from neuroimaging and sensorimotor research, this author theorizes that dyssynchronous activation of brain regions and long-range underconnectivity necessary for higher order integration of sensory input and motor planning, which are exacerbated by increased anxiety and cognitive and emotional demands imposed by controlled designs, explain the disparities between abilities to respond under controlled versus non-controlled conditions. As demonstrated through neuroimaging research, widespread disrupted cerebral neural connectivity appears to be the fundamental neurological mechanism underlying autism with its associated behaviors that have for too-long been socially interpreted and misinterpreted rather than neurologically explained. This author proposes that as task-based neuroconnectivity research advances, the disruptions in neural connectivity will account for the differing outcomes produced when typing with facilitation under controlled versus non-controlled conditions. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohio Link ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/etd

A Single-Subject Evaluation of Facilitated Communication in the Completion of School-Assigned Homework

Few projects have combined quantitative and qualitative approaches in the analysis of facilitated communication as did this study of a 17-year-old nonverbal autistic male responding to homework questions using facilitated communication. Findings were consistent with prior studies: Tim was minimally able to produce correct responses independent of facilitator influence under controlled conditions; whereas, at least some typed messages in the spontaneous narratives appear to be his authentic communications independent of facilitator control. An overview of the history of facilitated communication, its related research, and the heated debates around its validity are presented. Disparate findings between controlled and non-controlled circumstances are examined, first within a traditional paradigm, and then within the framework of the past decade’s sensorimotor and neuroimaging research. EEG, fMRI, and DTI neuroimaging studies indicate autism is a disorder of disrupted cerebral neural connectivity - specifically of long-range neural underconnectivity and short-range over- and, to a lesser degree, under-connectivity. Research linking these findings with the long-discounted sensorimotor behavioral research (and firsthand accounts) indicating aberrant sensory integration and motor planning processes are core features of autism has just begun. A key argument against advocates’ explanations for FC being authentic in some situations but not in others has been with their lack of a substantiating theory. Based on combined evidence from neuroimaging and sensorimotor research, this author theorizes that dyssynchronous activation of brain regions and long-range underconnectivity necessary for higher order integration of sensory input and motor planning, which are exacerbated by increased anxiety and cognitive and emotional demands imposed by controlled designs, explain the disparities between abilities to respond under controlled versus non-controlled conditions. As demonstrated through neuroimaging research, widespread disrupted cerebral neural connectivity appears to be the fundamental neurological mechanism underlying autism with its associated behaviors that have for too-long been socially interpreted and misinterpreted rather than neurologically explained. This author proposes that as task-based neuroconnectivity research advances, the disruptions in neural connectivity will account for the differing outcomes produced when typing with facilitation under controlled versus non-controlled conditions. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohio Link ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/etd