Training trainers in the use of acting techniques of accent modification to alter the speech of non-native speakers of English

This thesis looked at the feasibility of training EFL students to speak English \\·ith a Standard American English accent, using the same techrnques that actors employ to acquire an accent for a given role. Four Liberian refugees, currently residing in Cairo, were chosen to participate in a 21-hour pronunciation course, designed and taught by a theatre teacher \\·ho currently instrncts his students in theatrical training, including accent modification, at the American University in Cairo. Digital studio recordings of the subjects· recitation of an identical stage monologue \\·ere made at pre. mid and post training intervals. In order to assess the subjects· proximity to Standard natiYe American speech, parallel sections from recordings of the same passage, read by five male native speakers of Standard American English. were made. These native speaker files were analyzed, using Speech Tools. and model formants were produced, using averaged native speaker data. From these recordings, the pronunciation of five phonemes, in three different parts of the passage, were extracted for analysis. Analyses of variance (ANOV A) were carried out to determine the significant impact of the training on the formant, the phoneme, and the placement of the phoneme. Additionally, a stem and leaf analysis was conducted to assess overall performance of the subjects in the pre, mid and post recordings, in relation to their proximity to native Standard American speech. Overall results indicated that two of the four participants demonstrated a ten percent improvement in their post-training pronunciation performance. Although there were no results which indicated that the theatrical training approach coul4\u27 not be used to successfully train EFL students in Standard English pronunciation proficiency, none of the subjects in the study were found to produce speech identical to that of native Standard American English. The study\u27s results may have been hampered by the impact of connected speech, as phonemes which were sounded before and after the phoneme extracted for analysis colored the pronunciation of the target utterance, thus making the extracted phoneme difficult to assess in isolation. Factors which may hm·e hampered the success of the training include the brevity of the course, at-home assignments which were not completed by the subjects and an absence of extrinsic motivators such as monetary reward, which could encourage good pronunciation performance. Suggestions for future studies are included in chapter five. The results of a questionnaire indicated that the subjects felt that they could pass on the training in accent modification which they had acquired in the program

Augmenting the Site Analysis Phase of the Design Process Using Virtual Reality and Drones

Virtual reality (VR) is a tool that has been utilized by designers for decades now. In most cases, VR has been utilized in the latter part of the design process. More specifically, VR has been used most commonly towards the design review phase of the design process where people are often looking for a final design suggestion. With regards to the design review phase, there have been many reports discussing the effectiveness of VR. However, there has been little to no research regarding the use of VR in the site analysis phase of the design process. This thesis develops a methodology for generating a three-dimensional (3-D) terrain model using drones and photogrammetry software, then importing the 3-D terrain model to an immersive virtual reality program, along with GIS data and other online resources, to conduct a large-scale site analysis using VR. This thesis uses the site Powder Mountain, Utah to explore ways of integrating VR into the site analysis phase design process. Powder Mountain includes 10,000 acres of rough terrain and steep slopes. The analysis focus was prioritized by existing program elements generated by Summit Powder Mountain. The results of this study suggest that this methodology can enhance the site analysis process by increasing the connectivity of designers to existing site conditions, allowing designers to frequently reference site conditions as they proceed to later phases of the design process. VR also provides designers with a means to express their site analysis in a manner that is spatially connected to the site, rather than via abstracted 2-dimensional models and representations

Tritium Analysis of Seawater

In applying chemical knowledge to the solution of natural terrestrial problems it is necessary to know the abundances of the chemical and isotopic components of the systems being studied. Broader studies in geochemistry require knowledge of such abundances in various major reservoirs (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere) and of the mutual exchanges which occur. Concomitant problems are the origins of particular isotopic species, their fates within each reservoir and variations in their budgets with time. While these topics warrant study in their own right, a desirable outcome is the application of such knowledge to related disciplines. This study is firstly an attempt to establish a routine laboratory for the extraction and measurement of geochemical 3 tritium, 3H or T, an isotope of hydrogen. Experimental techniques for the determination of tritium levels in natural waters are described. These include one stage conversion of water to methane and significant improvements in electrolytic procedures for isotopic enrichment. Secondly, water samples from areas of the Pacific and Antarctic Oceans have been collected and analysed for tritium. Conventional hydrographic data have been used in conjunction with the tritium results to determine the physical oceanography of these areas with emphasis on water mass structure and mixing characteristics

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the leading cause of ischemic stroke and is the most commonly observed arrhythmia in clinical cardiology. Catheter ablation of AF, in which specific regions of cardiac anatomy associated with AF are intenionally injured to create scar tissue, has been honed over the last 15 years to become a relatively common and safe treatment option. However, the success of these anatomically driven ablation strategies, particularly in hearts that have been exposed to AF for extended periods, remains poor. AF induces changes in the electrical and structural properties of the cardiac tissue that further promotes the permanence of AF. In a process known as electroanatomical (EAM) mapping, clinicians record time signals known as electrograms (EGMs) from the heart and the locations of the recording sites to create geometric representations, or maps, of the electrophysiological properties of the heart. Analysis of the maps and the individual EGM morphologies can indicate regions of abnormal tissue, or substrates that facilitate arrhythmogenesis and AF perpetuation. Despite this progress, limitations in the control of devices currently used for EAM acquisition and reliance on suboptimal metrics of tissue viability appear to be hindering the potential of treatment guided by substrate mapping. In this research, we used computational models of cardiac excitation to evaluate param- eters of EAM that affect the performance of substrate mapping. These models, which have been validated with experimental and clinical studies, have yielded new insights into the limitations of current mapping systems, but more importantly, they guided us to develop new systems and metrics for robust substrate mapping. We report here on the progress in these simulation studies and on novel measurement approaches that have the potential to improve the robustness and precision of EAM in patients with arrhythmias. Appropriate detection of proarrhythmic substrates promises to improve ablation of AF beyond rudimentary destruction of anatomical targets to directed targeting of complicit tissues. Targeted treatment of AF sustaining tissues, based on the substrate mapping approaches described in this dissertation, has the potential to improve upon the efficacy of current AF treatment options

Bilirubin and biliverdin binding to raty protein (ligandin)

The binding of bilirubin to poly(-lysine) produces an optically active complex at pH 10.1. Circular dichroism spectra of these complexes are distinguishable from those generated by binding of bilirubin to the high affinity sites on albumin. Comparison of the circular dichroism spectra of bilirubin bound to the hepatic protein ligandin with those of bilirubin complexed with albumin or polylysine indicates that binding of bilirubin to ligandin occurs at two types of sites. These are distinguishable on the basis of their spectral properties, one resembling the high affinity site of bovine serum albumin and the other resembling polylysine. Complexes of biliverdin with albumin and ligandin bear similarities to the bilirubin-protein complexes. The native protein itself has an ordered structure which consists of 41% [alpha]-helix and is not altered by the binding of bilirubin.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21676/1/0000064.pd

Sensitivity and specificity of substrate mapping: An in silico framework for the evaluation of electroanatomical substrate mapping strategies

pre-printBackground - Voltage mapping is an important tool for characterizing proarrhythmic electrophysiological substrate, yet it is subject to geometric factors that influence bipolar amplitudes and thus compromise performance. The aim of this study was to characterize the impact of catheter orientation on the ability of bipolar amplitudes to accurately discriminate between healthy and diseased tissues. Methods and Results - We constructed a three-dimensional, in-silico, bidomain model of cardiac tissue containing transmural lesions of varying diameter. A planar excitation wave was stimulated and electrograms were sampled with a realistic catheter model at multiple positions and orientations. We carried out validation studies in animal experiments of acute ablation lesions mapped with a clinical mapping system. Bipolar electrograms sampled at higher inclination angles of the catheter with respect to the tissue demonstrated improvements in both sensitivity and specificity of lesion detection. Removing low voltage electrograms with concurrent activation of both electrodes, suggesting false attenuation of the bipolar electrogram due to alignment with the excitation wavefront, had little effect on the accuracy of voltage mapping. Conclusions - Our results demonstrate possible mechanisms for the impact of catheter orientation on voltage mapping accuracy. Moreover, results from our simulations suggest that mapping accuracy may be improved by selectively controlling the inclination of the catheter to record at higher angles with respect to the tissue