Voice Operated Information System in Slovak

Speech communication interfaces (SCI) are nowadays widely used in several domains. Automated spoken language human-computer interaction can replace human-human interaction if needed. Automatic speech recognition (ASR), a key technology of SCI, has been extensively studied during the past few decades. Most of present systems are based on statistical modeling, both at the acoustic and linguistic levels. Increased attention has been paid to speech recognition in adverse conditions recently, since noise-resistance has become one of the major bottlenecks for practical use of speech recognizers. Although many techniques have been developed, many challenges still have to be overcome before the ultimate goal -- creating machines capable of communicating with humans naturally -- can be achieved. In this paper we describe the research and development of the first Slovak spoken language dialogue system. The dialogue system is based on the DARPA Communicator architecture. The proposed system consists of the Galaxy hub and telephony, automatic speech recognition, text-to-speech, backend, transport and VoiceXML dialogue management modules. The SCI enables multi-user interaction in the Slovak language. Functionality of the SLDS is demonstrated and tested via two pilot applications, ``Weather forecast for Slovakia'' and ``Timetable of Slovak Railways''. The required information is retrieved from Internet resources in multi-user mode through PSTN, ISDN, GSM and/or VoIP network

Civil Society in the 'Visegrad Four': Data and Literature in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

The first of three publications on the '25 Years After -- Mapping Civil Society in the Visegrád Four' project contains an overview of existing data and literature in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. It looks at where and what kind of research on civil society has been and is being done, who is doing it and where the gaps are.To be consistent and comparable, the four country reports include the same core sections: relevant publications on civil society in the respective country; existing databases and other data sources; active centres of research, training, and policy studies. More than providing just a list, this report looks at how they can be evaluated in terms of scope, accurateness and depth. Finally, it considers the question of what the most crucial gaps in research and funding in the countries are.An academic volume is slated for the end of 2014. For other publications in English and German, see www.maecenata.eu

Institutional Framework and Poverty: A Transition Economy Perspective

This paper focuses on the role of institutions in poverty alleviation, where both poverty and institutions are interpreted broadly. The broadening of the poverty notion is important at least from the policy perspective. Even if one were convinced that higher growth would reduce income poverty to an acceptable margin, there appears to be little concrete policy measures that one may offer so as to harness greater growth. Besides, the weight of the empirical evidence to date, if not squarely founded on the transition economies of the EEFSU region, is that reducing average poverty is not enough. Existing and possibly rising inequality would ensure that a great many would fall through the cracks, and not benefit from high growth, even if that was achievable. The non-income elements of poverty, on the other hand, are more directly open to influence by policy interventions such as the easing of micro credit and other public and private ventures in health, sanitation, literacy and numeracy fronts. Finally the modest amount of information available at our disposal indicates that the underlying strength of the institutions (economic, political and social) is possibly the single most agent of significance to bring about the alleviation of non-income poverty. There is a further possibility that the same institutional forces would also materially affect the income measure of poverty as well in a discernible fashion.

Evaluation and Investigation of the Delay in VoIP Networks

The paper is focused mainly on the delay problems, which considerably influence the final quality of connections in VoIP (Voice over IP) networks. The paper provides a detailed exploration of the nature and mechanisms of the delay. The main purpose of the investigation was an attempt to formulate a mathematical model of delay in the VoIP network and its subsequent analysis by laboratory data

Ethnic Education: A Clash of Cultures in Progressive Chicago

The City of Chicago recently embarked upon a pioneering effort to transform the quality of its public school system. The concept of decentralization that allows for neighborhood councils, greater decision-making at the local level, and increased parental involvement in the schools is not a new one. Similar governance structures of a century ago fell victim to class and ethnic factionalism. The progressive vision of a homogenous society assumed a passive clientele and a consensus culture. Particular educational programs brought diverse groups closer to the mainstream, but the resultant mass culture accommodated pluralistic values rather than the sought-after homogeneity

Drifting Apart? European Journalists and Their Audiences

How do the current technological changes and socio-political developments impact on the relationship between European journalists and their audiences? This article draws on selected findings from a larger research project conducted in eleven European countries. Focusing on European journalists’ understanding of their audiences, the paper suggests that in many European countries digital technologies and increased competition play a significant role in the changing relationship between journalists and their audiences. The literature reviews undertaken in the eleven European countries indicate that the relationship between journalists/media professionals and their audiences has undergone significant changes. While the interviewed journalists are alert to a shift towards journalistic practices and formats which permit certain forms of audience participation, many of them sense an increasing disconnection from the public and severe mistrust by citizens; which crucially impacts on their relationship with audiences

The EU Factor and Slovak International Integration: the Role of Foreign Direct Investment

While the impact of EU conditionalities associated with recent EU-accession negotiations has been widely discussed, little attention has been given to the effect of post-1998 EU reforms on Slovakia's greater integration with the global economy. The convergence of Slovakia's institutions and policies with the EU's acquis communautaire has led to a dramatic increase in inflows of foreign direct investment into Slovakia in 2000/02. The available information suggests that the entry of foreign firms has been beneficial in inserting the Slovak economy firmly into the pan-European division of labor and raising the productivity of domestic firms.Europeanization; regional integration; foreign direct investment; spillovers