Unsupervised intralingual and cross-lingual speaker adaptation for HMM-based speech synthesis using two-pass decision tree construction

Hidden Markov model (HMM)-based speech synthesis systems possess several advantages over concatenative synthesis systems. One such advantage is the relative ease with which HMM-based systems are adapted to speakers not present in the training dataset. Speaker adaptation methods used in the field of HMM-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) are adopted for this task. In the case of unsupervised speaker adaptation, previous work has used a supplementary set of acoustic models to estimate the transcription of the adaptation data. This paper firstly presents an approach to the unsupervised speaker adaptation task for HMM-based speech synthesis models which avoids the need for such supplementary acoustic models. This is achieved by defining a mapping between HMM-based synthesis models and ASR-style models, via a two-pass decision tree construction process. Secondly, it is shown that this mapping also enables unsupervised adaptation of HMM-based speech synthesis models without the need to perform linguistic analysis of the estimated transcription of the adaptation data. Thirdly, this paper demonstrates how this technique lends itself to the task of unsupervised cross-lingual adaptation of HMM-based speech synthesis models, and explains the advantages of such an approach. Finally, listener evaluations reveal that the proposed unsupervised adaptation methods deliver performance approaching that of supervised adaptation

An investigation into the challenges teachers face when teaching in a low socio-economic primary school

Teaching is a challenging profession. Teachers and schools that deal primarily with disadvantaged students are faced with a unique set of challenges that make their work more complex and demanding, and consequently make these schools harder to staff. According to Angus, Olney & Ainley (2007), “The supply of able teachers prepared to teach in challenging schools is perhaps the most important issue facing primary education” (p.110). The word ‘challenge’ is often used by people in relation to teaching but lacks a clearly understood meaning. This exploratory research examined the experiences of Western Australian teachers in situations they described as ‘challenging’ in a difficult to staff school in the metropolitan area. An interpretive study using case study techniques was conducted in a primary school for a year. Through engaging with teachers in dialogue throughout the course of a school year, an understanding of the construct of ‘challenge’ in the context of a difficult-to-staff low socio-economic status (SES) school was developed. It was found that there was a consistent, social construction of this term. Findings suggest that the teacher challenges could be organised into a structured schema that reflects the events and situations the teachers found challenging. These challenges were found to be overarching and were represented as Pre-eminent challenges that encompassed the significant teacher challenges at the school. The Preeminent Challenges were found to provide a common vocabulary and framework of reference to describe and discuss significant teacher challenges. The findings of the study suggest that challenges were multidimensional in nature and were intricately tied to how teachers responded to them. The key factors that influenced teacher responses were also identified in the study. It was found that challenges that had a clearly understood meaning could be better responded to and resolved. These findings have led to a deeper understanding of the day to day lives of teachers, particularly the challenges that they face when working in a low SES, difficult-to-staff school. This new understanding has lead to a greater awareness of how to better support teachers in these challenging contexts, and this has pertinent implications for the teaching profession. In particular, the critical need for extra support for the social and emotional wellbeing of teachers who work in challenging contexts was demonstrated. Furthermore, the profound impact of the local community on the school was detailed as was the importance of reflective practice for teachers in these contexts. Valuable insights were obtained into how teachers can work more effectively with students from disadvantaged and diverse cultural backgrounds

Investigation Into the Compatibility of the Outcomes of the Northern Territory Special Category Curriculum for Secondary Aged Indigenous Students and the Western Australian Student Outcome Statements

This study is an investigation into the compatibility of the outcomes of the Northern Territory Special Category Curriculum for Secondary Aged Indigenous Students (NTC) and the Western Australian Student Outcome Statements (SOS), in the Learning Area of English, using specified criteria. This document analysis examined the theoretical assumptions underpinning the NTC and SOS, the comparisons that can be made between the two, and then, how suitable the NTC was for achieving the SOS documented by Education Department of Western Australia (EDWA) for Indigenous secondary students in remote comminutes. The outcomes for the NTC and SOS in the Learning Area of English were collated into Data Tables for the purpose of comparison. An analytical process using Summative Statements, Summative Scale, and Within Learning Area Comparisons allowed effective comparisons to be made. Results from the analysis indicated that an attempt to make direct links between the outcomes of the NTC and SOS was not beneficial due predominantly to differences in their theoretical underpinnings. Further, student outcomes mandated by educational systems appeared problematic. The appropriateness of the SOS for Indigenous students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds was questioned, due to an inherent Standard Australian English (SAE) bias framed within the SOS. A number of conclusions were made, based on findings. First, that students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds should have the opportunity to participate in the Special Category Curriculum as this allows for the bridging of their English Language competence to a level that may permit them to more successfully attain the SOS. Second, that until such time as the above is met, those students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds should not have to attain the SOS. Third, that the NTC be retained in WA remote schools. Finally, that further investigation be pursued to determine the extent to which these findings for the Learning Area of English hold true for the other seven SOS Learning Areas

Naming Your Pet

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Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. to Senator James O. Eastland, 13 July 1970

Typed letter signed dated 13 July 1970 from Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., Executive Director of President?s Commission on Campus Unrest, to Eastland, re: public hearings of commission. Attached: copy typed manuscript entitled Witness Schedule Room 1202 New Senate Office Building.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/joecorr_f/1000/thumbnail.jp

‘I’m not from a country, I’m from Australia.’ Costumes, scarves, and fruit on their heads: The urgent need for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy when sharing diverse books with children

Children’s books play a central role in today’s classrooms. Educators can use children’s literature to promote children’s social and cultural understandings and critical thinking skills. This is particularly important when extending children’s knowledge and understandings of themselves, their identity and those who may differ culturally, socially or historically, thus supporting diversity and inclusion. Further, when diversity is considered, valued, and supported through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP), outcomes for children from underrepresented backgrounds improve. This paper reports on a study conducted in four early learning settings in Western Australia investigating educators’ practices when sharing diverse literature with young children. This study found in the majority of book sharing in these centres the cultures, backgrounds, life experiences and funds of knowledge of children from underrepresented backgrounds were invisible. Further, educators’ practices were bereft of CRP and likely to demean and confuse those from underrepresented backgrounds and increase all children’s misconceptions of others

The demon-haunted sentence: A skeptical analysis of reverse speech

Advocates of reverse speech propose that it is a direct path to the unconscious mind. However, there is no evidence of its existence, and accepting this pseudoscience could prove tragic