Voice Activated Command and Control with Speech Recognition over WiFi

This paper presents work conducted to date on the development of a voice activated command and control framework specifically for the control of remote devices in a ubiquitous computing environment. The prototype device is a Java controlled Lego Mindstorm robot. The research considers three different scenario configurations. A recognition grammar for command and control of the robot has been created and implemented in Java, in part in the recognition engine and in part on the robot. The physical topology involves Java at each node endpoint, that is, at the handheld PC (iPaq), the PC workstation, the Linux server and onboard the robot (including its Java based Lejos OS). Network communications is primarily WLAN with an element of IR where the robot is concerned. The speech recognition software used includes Sphinx4, Microsoft SAPI and the Java Speech API. We compare these speech technologies and present their benefits in the context of this research. For each given scenario we present and discuss the implementation challenges encountered and their corresponding solutions, including future plans to create additional grammars to extend the framework’s range of devices

Voice Activated Command and Control with Speech Recognition over Wireless Networks

This paper presents work conducted to date on the development of a voice activated command and control framework specifically for the control of remote devices in a ubiquitous computing environment. The prototype device is a Java controlled Lego Mindstorm robot. The research considers three different scenario configurations. A recognition grammar for command and control of the robot has been created and implemented in Java, in part in the recognition engine and in part on the robot. The physical topology involves Java at each node endpoint, that is, at the handheld PC (iPaq), the PC workstation, the Linux server and onboard the robot (including its Java based Lejos OS). Network communications is primarily WLAN with an element of IR where the robot is concerned. The speech recognition software used includes Sphinx4, Microsoft SAPI and the Java Speech API. We compare these speech technologies and present their benefits in the context of this research. For each given scenario we present and discuss the implementation challenges encountered and their corresponding solutions. We outline our future plans to create additional grammars to extend the frameworks range of devices

INDICATORS AND TARGETS FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. ESRI WP151(?). 2003

Until recently, policy co-ordination at European Union (EU) level has mostly been applied to economic policy, with multilateral surveillance provided for in the Maastricht Treaty, and to employment, where the European Council agrees employment guidelines for the Member States and progress is monitored through regular reviews of National Action Plans. In December 2001, the European Council held at Laeken in Belgium adopted a set of commonly agreed and defined indicators, which should play a central role in monitoring the performance of the Member States in promoting social inclusion. These indicators are intended to allow the Member States and the European Commission to monitor national and EU progress towards the four key EU objectives in the area of social inclusion set by the Nice European Council in December 20002, and to support mutual learning and exchange of good practices in terms of policies. They can also prove useful for illustrating areas where more policy action is needed. The detailed content of those common objectives and the implementation arrangements endorsed at the European Council of Nice have been confirmed by the Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs at their December 2002 meeting with a few amendments emphasising the importance of setting targets (following on the decision of the Barcelona European Council, as discussed below), of the need to strengthen the gender perspective in National Action Plans on social inclusion, and of the risks of poverty and social exclusion faced by immigrant

The accordian and the deep bowl of spaghetti: Eight researchers' experiences of using IPA as a methodology

Since 1996 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) has grown rapidly and been applied in areas outside its initial “home” of health psychology. However, explorations of its application from a researcher's perspective are scarce. This paper provides reflections on the experiences of eight individual researchers using IPA in diverse disciplinary fields and cultures. The research studies were conducted in the USA, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK by researchers with backgrounds in business management, consumer behaviour, mental health nursing, nurse education, applied linguistics, clinical psychology, health and education. They variously explored media awareness, employee commitment, disengagement from mental health services, in-vitro fertilisation treatment, student nurses' experience of child protection, second language acquisition in a university context, the male experience of spinal cord injury and academics experience of working in higher education and women’s experiences of body size and health practices. By bringing together intercultural, interdisciplinary experiences of using IPA, the paper discusses perceived strengths and weaknesses of IPA

Developing a Distributed Java-based Speech Recognition Engine

The development of speech recognition engines has traditionally been the territory of low-level development languages such as C. Until recently Java may not have been considered a candidate language for the development of such a speech engine, due to its security restrictions which limited its sound processing features. The release of the Java Sound API as part of the Java Media Framework and the subsequent integration of the Sound API into the standard Java development kit provides the necessary sound processing tools to Java to perform speech recognition. This paper documents our development of a speech recognition engine using the Java programming language. We discuss the theory of speech recognition engines using stochastic techniques such as Hidden Markov Models that we employ in our Java based implementation of speech sigm;zl processing algorithms like Fast Fourier Transform and Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients. Furthermore we describe our design goal and implementation of a distributed speech engine component which provides a client server approach to speech recognition. The distributed architecture allows us to deliver speech recognition technology and applications to a range of low powered devices such as PDAs and mobile phones which otherwise may not have the requisite computing power onboard to perform speech recognition

Nuclease-based gene drives, an innovative tool for insect vector control: advantages and challenges of the technology

Genetic control of insects involves the release of modified insects that contain altered genetic traits and are competent to mate with target populations to introduce the traits therein. Since it relies on mating, this type of control is species-specific, non-toxic, and has the advantage that the released insects can do the difficult task of reaching remote and otherwise inaccessible insect niches. Gene drives are capable of drastically biasing their own transmission and are being developed as a new type of genetic control, one that would be self-sustaining, requiring low numbers in the initial release in order to spread and persist within a population. In this review, the advantages and challenges of building and deploying this technology will be discussed, using mosquito control as an example

A comprehensive gene expression atlas of sex- and tissue-specificity in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae.

BACKGROUND: The mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, is the primary vector of human malaria, a disease responsible for millions of deaths each year. To improve strategies for controlling transmission of the causative parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, we require a thorough understanding of the developmental mechanisms, physiological processes and evolutionary pressures affecting life-history traits in the mosquito. Identifying genes expressed in particular tissues or involved in specific biological processes is an essential part of this process. RESULTS: In this study, we present transcription profiles for ~82% of annotated Anopheles genes in dissected adult male and female tissues. The sensitivity afforded by examining dissected tissues found gene activity in an additional 20% of the genome that is undetected when using whole-animal samples. The somatic and reproductive tissues we examined each displayed patterns of sexually dimorphic and tissue-specific expression. By comparing expression profiles with Drosophila melanogaster we also assessed which genes are well conserved within the Diptera versus those that are more recently evolved. CONCLUSIONS: Our expression atlas and associated publicly available database, the MozAtlas (http://www.tissue-atlas.org), provides information on the relative strength and specificity of gene expression in several somatic and reproductive tissues, isolated from a single strain grown under uniform conditions. The data will serve as a reference for other mosquito researchers by providing a simple method for identifying where genes are expressed in the adult, however, in addition our resource will also provide insights into the evolutionary diversity associated with gene expression levels among species.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Comforting narratives of compliance: Psychoanalytic perspectives on new teacher responses to mathematics policy

Opening the Research Text Critical Insights and In(ter)ventions into Mathematics Education Edited by: Elizabeth de Freitas, Adelphi University & University of Prince Edward Island Kathleen Nolan, University of Regina The provocative ..

The post-transcriptional gene silencing machinery functions independently of DNA methylation to repress a LINE1-like retrotransposon in Neurospora crassa

Post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) involving small interfering RNA (siRNA)-directed degradation of RNA transcripts and transcriptional silencing via DNA methylation have each been proposed as mechanisms of genome defence against invading nucleic acids, such as transposons and viruses. Furthermore, recent data from plants indicates that many transposons are silenced via a combination of the two mechanisms, and siRNAs can direct methylation of transposon sequences. We investigated the contribution of DNA methylation and the PTGS pathway to transposon control in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. We found that repression of the LINE1-like transposon, Tad, requires the Argonaute protein QDE2 and Dicer, each of which are required for transgene-induced PTGS (quelling) in N.crassa. Interestingly, unlike quelling, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase QDE1 and the RecQ DNA helicase QDE3 were not required for Tad control, suggesting the existence of specialized silencing pathways for diverse kinds of repetitive elements. In contrast, Tad elements were not significantly methylated and the DIM2 DNA methyltransferase, responsible for all known DNA methylation in Neurospora, had no effect on Tad control. Thus, an RNAi-related transposon silencing mechanism operates during the vegetative phase of N.crassa that is independent of DNA methylation, highlighting a major difference between this organism and other methylation-proficient species

New Perspectives on Mathematics Pedagogy

“New Perspectives on Mathematics Pedagogy” represents a serious attempt to understand pedagogy within mathematics classrooms. To that end, this symposium will address the key questions and issues surrounding mathematics pedagogy presently confronting vast numbers of researchers, as well as educators, and policy makers. Organised around presentations, responses, discussion and debate, the symposium is intended not only to enhance understanding but also to stimulate fresh thinking and initiate ongoing critical dialogue about the practice of mathematics pedagogy within teaching and learning settings