Segmentation of Speech and Humming in Vocal Input

Non-verbal vocal interaction (NVVI) is an interaction method in which sounds other than speech produced by a human are used, such as humming. NVVI complements traditional speech recognition systems with continuous control. In order to combine the two approaches (e.g. "volume up, mmm") it is necessary to perform a speech/NVVI segmentation of the input sound signal. This paper presents two novel methods of speech and humming segmentation. The first method is based on classification of MFCC and RMS parameters using a neural network (MFCC method), while the other method computes volume changes in the signal (IAC method). The two methods are compared using a corpus collected from 13 speakers. The results indicate that the MFCC method outperforms IAC in terms of accuracy, precision, and recall

Bioenergy and Food Security Modeling Income Effects in a Partial Equilibrium Model

Bioenergy has been politically promoted as a means to mitigate air pollution, climate change, and scarcity of fossil energy sources. This study addresses the question whether increased agricultural incomes from bioenergy production will improve food security despite increasing food prices. We use a small partial equilibrium to analyze bioenergy policies. Through an iterative procedure, income changes are used to shift food demand curves until equilibrium. Our results show that despite global reductions in food production, undernourishment may decrease in certain locations, where bioenergy production occurs.Food security, Bioenergy policy, Income changes, Partial equilibrium model, Food Security and Poverty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Agriculture, Population, Land and Water Scarcity in a Changing World – The Role of Irrigation

Fertile land and fresh water constitute two of the most fundamental resources for food production. These resources are affected by environmental, political, economic, and technical developments. Regional impacts may transmit to the world through increased trade. With a global forest and agricultural sector model, we quantify the impacts of increased demand for food due to population growth and economic development on potential land and water use. In particular, we investigate producer adaptation regarding crop and irrigation choice, agricultural market adjustments, and changes in the values of land and water.Irrigation, Food supply, Integrated assessment, Water use intensity, Agricultural adaptation, Land scarcity, Partial equilibrium model, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Preparing Students Experiencing Homelessness for College: Considerations for Counselors and Other Supportive Personnel

This article describes the unique college and career preparation challenges faced by students experiencing homelessness (SEH), framed using a Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) lens. The experience of homelessness presents barriers for secondary students, which can impact their college self-efficacy, outcome expectations of attending and succeeding in college, and goal setting towards college. In this conceptual paper, background on homelessness and research related to the college planning process of SEH is provided, as well as implications for school and career counselors, as well as other educators

Theory to Practice: Integrating Service-Learning into a Pre-Practicum Introduction to School Counseling Course

Service learning is a method of instruction that integrates volunteerism, as well as reflection, in the classroom. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to describe the implementation and design of a pre-practicum service learning experience into an Introduction to School Counseling course. The authors describe the empirically grounded design of the service learning experience, as well as the course goals, how it was integrated into the class, and a summary of student experiences

Investment needs for irrigation infrastructure along different socio-economic pathways

This paper conducts an assessment of the global costs for expanding, upgrading, and improving irrigation infra-structure in developing countries, along different future scenarios toward 2050. It uses the GLobal BIOsphere Man-agement Model, a partial equilibrium model of the global agricultural and forestry sectors. It examines the impacts of irrigation expansion on the agriculture and food system, from the perspective of different Sustainable Development Goals, in particular food security (goal 2), land use change and biodiversity (goal 15), greenhouse gas emissions (goal 13), and sustainable water use (goal 6). It finds that irriga-tion support policies improve food security globally and can reduce the burden on land by limiting expansion of cropland area. However, the effectiveness of irrigation to achieve a larger set of goals depends on the regional con-text. In South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, the expansion of irrigation increases unsustainable water extraction practices. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the uncertainty of the infrastructure costs and impacts under different socioeconomic developments, levels of radiative forcing and climate change scenarios, dietary patterns, trade openness, and efficiencies of irriga-tion systems. The findings indicate that irrigation systems could play an important role in adaptation to the most adverse climate change; however, increased water scarcity may also limit adaptation potentials

Improving Ethiopian Smallholders’ Income and Food Security: An Assessment of Alternative Policy Options

Smallholder farmers dominate food production, but also represent the largest share of people in developing countries experiencing food insecurity. In Ethiopia, agricultural growth now forms the backbone of the country’s long-term plans for economic growth. This study aims to analyze long-term changes to the agricultural sector and its consequences for the evolution of smallholder farmers under various policy scenarios. A farming typology based on the agro-ecological zone, the dominant activities, and the degree of market integration is established for this purpose. The agro-ecological zone is divided into the rainfall-sufficient and drought prone highland areas and the pastoralist lowlands. Dominant activities are either pure livestock-keeping or a combination of crops and livestock. Market integration is based on the share of agricultural output sold to the market. The resulting typology is extrapolated to all regions of Ethiopia. The spatially differentiated typology is integrated in an Ethiopia-version of Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM), a globally-consistent partial equilibrium model representing spatial land-use patterns and accounting for biophysical resource constraints. 19 crops (the standard GLOBIOM crops, teff, coffee and sesame), 4 animal types (cattle, sheep, goats and poultry) and 2 livestock products (milk and meat) are represented in the model. Projections of population and GDP growth per region are used to set up the initial demand for each product and each time step. Policies aiming to improve food security and reduce poverty are subsequently implemented. These include infrastructure and irrigation extensions as well as the improvement of access to fertilizers. Results show that the distribution of the farming systems changes across space and time under different policy scenarios. Impacts on smallholders’ poverty and food security status differ depending on the policy, enabling a spatially explicit assessment of policy options at both the local and national level

Exploring Pre-practicum Site-Based Experiential Learning in School Counselor Preparation

In this study, participation in a pre-practicum site-based experiential learning assignment was examined. First semester pre-service school counselors who were enrolled in an introductory school counseling course, engaged in observation, counseling, and academic support with students and clients at community and school sites. Qualitative data was collected across three cohort groups and examined through phenomenological inquiry. Participants shared common themes, including that they: (a) Recognized inequities while they expanded their worldview; (b) Preferred a structured experience; (c) Valued relationships; and (d) Drew connections to the classroom and the field