Fuzzy Logic Based Segmentation for Myanmar Continuous Speech Recognition System

Speech recognition is one of the next generation technologies for human-computer interaction. Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) is a technology that allows a computer to recognize the words spoken by a person through telephone, microphone or other devices. The various stages of the speech recognition system are pre-processing, segmentation of speech signal, feature extraction of speech and recognition of word. Among many speech recognition systems, continuous speech recognition system is very important and most popular system. This paper proposes the time-domain features and frequency-domain features based on fuzzy knowledge for continuous speech segmentation task via a nonlinear speech analysis. Short-time Energy and Zero-crossing Rate are time-domain features, and Spectral Centroid is frequency-domain feature that the system will calculate in each point of speech signal in order to exploit relevant information for generating the significant segments. Fuzzy Logic technique will be used not only to fuzzify the calculated features into three complementary sets namely: low, middle, high but also to perform a matching phase using a set of fuzzy rules. The output of the Fuzzy Logic are phonemes, syllables and disyllables of Myanmar Language. The result of the system will recognize the continuous words of input speech

Surveillance to achieve malaria elimination in eastern Myanmar: a 7-year observational study

Background The collection and utilization of surveillance data is essential in monitoring progress towards achieving malaria elimination, in the timely response to increases in malaria case numbers and in the assessment of programme functioning. This paper describes the surveillance activities used by the malaria elimination task force (METF) programme which operates in eastern Myanmar, and provides an analysis of data collected from weekly surveillance, case investigations, and monitoring and evaluation of programme performance. Methods This retrospective analysis was conducted using data collected from a network of 1250 malaria posts operational between 2014 and 2021. To investigate changes in data completeness, malaria post performance, malaria case numbers, and the demographic details of malaria cases, summary statistics were used to compare data collected over space and time. Results In the first 3 years of the METF programme, improvements in data transmission routes resulted in a 18.9% reduction in late reporting, allowing for near real-time analysis of data collected at the malaria posts. In 2020, travel restrictions were in place across Karen State in response to COVID-19, and from February 2021 the military coup in Myanmar resulted in widescale population displacement. However, over that period there has been no decline in malaria post attendance, and the majority of consultations continue to occur within 48 h of fever onset. Case investigations found that 43.8% of cases travelled away from their resident village in the 3 weeks prior to diagnosis and 36.3% reported never using a bed net whilst sleeping in their resident village, which increased to 72.2% when sleeping away from their resident village. Malaria post assessments performed in 82.3% of the METF malaria posts found malaria posts generally performed to a high standard. Conclusions Surveillance data collected by the METF programme demonstrate that despite significant changes in the context in which the programme operates, malaria posts have remained accessible and continue to provide early diagnosis and treatment contributing to an 89.3% decrease in Plasmodium falciparum incidence between 2014 and 2021

Fiscal Management in Myanmar

Past governments in Myanmar presided over a system generally characterized by weak fiscal management, but this has recently changed with the present government restoring a measure of fiscal discipline, reorienting fiscal priorities, and establishing a clear set of fiscal objectives in the Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (FESR), which was finalized in June 2013. The Government of Myanmar now has to prioritize how best to implement these fiscal objectives while strengthening longrun fiscal discipline. This paper provides a broad range of recommendations on how this can be achieved, using analysis of Myanmar's present and past fiscal situation alongside insights provided by the experience of other countries

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

The Hluttaw and conflicts in Myanmar

In the five years from when its transition from a military regime began in 2011, Myanmar faced a number of conflicts old and new that had profound influence on the breadth and depth of the transition. The Myitsone dam crisis and subsequent suspension of the project in 2011 changed the way the international community saw the transition (Skidmore and Wilson 2012, p. 7). On the other hand, communal violence in Rakhine State and in several parts of Myanmar in 2012 was portrayed as a setback at a time when reforms were bringing high hopes to the future of Myanmar (Wilson 2014, p. 13). Subsequently, the Letpadaung copper mine dispute and clashes with the police and protesters in 2013; land-grabbing disputes between government agencies, the military, and the local people in 2013; clashes between the Constitutional Tribunal of the Union (CTU) and the legislature on the status of the legislative commissions in 2012; and the student movement on educational bill amendments that turned violent in 2015 were obvious examples of conflicts that have had serious impacts on the course of reforms. Myanmar's legislature, the Hluttaw, was involved in accommodating these transitional conflicts and its effectiveness and assertiveness were not always the same. For instance, its involvement in the ethnic conflict and the peace negotiations was more ceremonial than crucial (Ei Ei Toe Lwin 2013). Next, the Hluttaw was mostly silent on the communal violence in Rakhine State (Ei Ei Toe Lwin 2014a). While it was less responsive to violent clashes like the Letpadaung copper mine conflict, the legislature was quick to flex its muscles against the CTU when the latter ruled against the legislature (Nardi 2012). Moreover, while the government showed signs of compromise with the students on the amendments to the national education bill, the Hluttaw was firm in its process, and rejected the deadline set by the student movement to amend the law (Htoo Thant and Mratt Kyaw Thu 2015). In land-grabbing disputes, the legislature was proactive and had substantial achievements (Thiri Min Tun 2012). Each of the conflicts was different in nature and therefore required a different legislative response. Some were long-standing conflicts such as the peace process, while some were new, as in the case of communal violence. Some were fast moving as in the case of Letpadaung copper mine conflict, while some encountered many bureaucratic hurdles as in the case of land grabbing conflicts

The politics of co-optation in Myanmar

Can you imagine Clive Palmer and Tony Abbott sharing a bunk bed in a dormitory? Would Tony be annoyed by Clive’s snoring? Or would Clive be irritated by Tony’s early morning workout? Well, there’s a place on earth where parliamentarians do live in dorms. Let me take you to Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In 2010, after two decades of rule, the military decided to transform itself into a civilian government. But the parliament it created is overwhelmingly controlled by the pro-military party and ethnic minorities are co-opted into the parliament, to create the appearance of diversity and legitimacy while containing them in the dormitories to control their movements

Explaining Myanmar's hluttaw, 2011-2016 : transitional legitimacy and the politics of legislative autonomy

Transitional legislatures are essential institutions for entrenching democracy by providing legitimacy and by constraining the executive. This research examines the role of Myanmar{u2019}s legislature (the Hluttaw) during the country{u2019}s transition from the direct military rule. When it first met in January 2011, there was little disagreement that Myanmar{u2019}s legislature would serve as a rubber stamp because of the overwhelming majority of representatives from the ruling pro-military party and the military itself. Yet the Hluttaw emerged as a reform-minded lawmaking body as well as a forum for oversight of the executive. Lawmakers from the minor and ethnic parties actively engaged in the legislature alongside lawmakers from the ruling party, especially those who were pressured to contest the 2010 election.This research analyses the role of Myanmar{u2019}s legislature against four major transitional functions: (i) achieving legislative autonomy; (ii) a driving force in political and structural reform; (iii) realising democratic norms; and (iv) tackling transitional conflicts. Based on this conceptual framework, the dissertation asks, what role did Myanmar{u2019}s first legislature play during the transition from the military rule? And what were the determining factors? It argues that the Hluttaw provided transitional legitimacy by achieving legislative autonomy but its authoritarian form, and its political competition with the executive, stopped the Hluttaw from becoming a driving force in Myanmar{u2019}s transition. The dissertation also introduces the three major factors responsible for the shift from a rubber stamp to a robust legislature: (i) the speakers; (ii) non-partisanship; and (iii) co-opted lawmakers. The nexus between these factors explains what influenced the Hluttaw as well as how the Hluttaw became institutionally stronger.This research contributes to the scholarly understanding of transitional legislatures by developing a conceptual framework about how legislatures play a role in political transition as well as an explanation about how institutional rivalry can create authoritarian splits. This analysis is based on five months of fieldwork in the national legislature in Nay Pyi Taw, and the sub-national legislatures in Myanmar{u2019}s States and Regions, and content analysis of the records of the legislative plenary sessions (2011-2016). Keywords: Myanmar, Hluttaw, legislature, democratic transitio

A STUDY ON PADDY PRODUCTION IN MYANMAR (From 2007/2008 to 2016/2017)

In Myanmar, paddy is an essential crop not only for local daily consumption but also for foreign earnings. The government has given a high priority to the expansion of paddy production because rice is a staple food for Myanmar people.The objective of the study is to analyze the sufficient condition of paddy production in Myanmar for the period 2007/2008 to 2016/2017. It is mainly based on descriptive method .The delta regions were found to be having the large area of paddy than central dry zone, costal and hilly regions due to the cultivable lands are plentiful across its region. The sown acreage and production of paddy is reduced statement during the studies period but Myanmar still can produce the sufficient amount of paddy production for its consumption and thus remains one of the world’s largest producers of rice today. The production of paddy has the potential for rapid growth by using high yielding varieties including adoption of Good Agricultural Practice, utilization of good quality high-yielding seeds, application of agricultural inputs such as irrigation water, agro-chemicals and natural fertilizers and promotion of farm machineries utilization as technology intervention. Well qualified person and the successive policies to create incentive for farmers are also required to enhance the paddy production

CREDIT ACCESSIBILITY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LOAN ON FAR PERFORMANCE (A Case Study of WAKEMA TOWNSHIP, AYEYARWADY REGION)

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between credit accessibility and the effectiveness of Loan on Farm Performance in Wakema Township, Ayeyarwady Division. Both of the primary and secondary data were used in this study. There are 125 village tracts in Wakema township and random sample of 83 active agricultural farmers was obtained from 5 village tracts which represent 10% of farmers from those 5 village tracts. Face to face interview was applied with the help of structured questionnaires. Correlation and regression models were used to test whether the performance of agricultural farm is affected by credit accessibility and also if there is any relationship between the two. There is a significant positive correlation between credit accessibility with the farm yield and farm income per acre but formal low interest loan is not enough during farming seasons. Thus, credit accessibility is the most important factor for farm’s performance and need government support to get enough loan amount during farming season with low interest rates. Farmers also need the supply of certified paddy seeds, enough agricultural research and knowledge sharing about fertilizer use, crop diversification to maximize profit, and also need the quality of agricultural mechanization to improve country’s economy