Temporal Parameters of Spontaneous Speech in Forensic Speaker Identification in Case of Language Mismatch: Serbian as L1 and English as L2

Celem badania jest analiza możliwości identyfikacji mówcy kryminalistycznego i sądowego podczas zadawania pytań w różnych językach, z wykorzystaniem parametrów temporalnych. (wskaźnik artykulcji, wskaźnik mowy, stopień niezdecydowania, odsetek pauz, średnia czas trwania pauzy). Korpus obejmuje 10 mówców kobiet z Serbii, które znają język angielksi na poziomie zaawwansowanym. Patrametry są badane z wykorzystaniem beayesowskiego wzoru wskaźnika prawdopodobieństwa w 40 parach tcyh samych mówców i w 230 parach różnych mówców, z uwzględnieniem szacunku wskaźnika błędu, równiego wskaźnika błędu i Całościowego Wskaźnika Prawdopodobieństwa. badanie ma charakter pionierski w zakresie językoznawstwa sądowego i kryminalistycznego por1) ónawczego w parze jezyka serbskiego i angielskiego, podobnie, jak analiza parametrów temporalnych mówców bilingwalnych. Dalsze badania inny skoncentrować się na porównaniu języków z rytmem akcentowym i z rytmem sylabicznym. The purpose of the research is to examine the possibility of forensic speaker identification if question and suspect sample are in different languages using temporal parameters (articulation rate, speaking rate, degree of hesitancy, percentage of pauses, average pause duration). The corpus includes 10 female native speakers of Serbian who are proficient in English. The parameters are tested using Bayesian likelihood ratio formula in 40 same-speaker and 360 different-speaker pairs, including estimation of error rates, equal error rates and Overall Likelihood Ratio. One-way ANOVA is performed to determine whether inter-speaker variability is higher than intra- speaker variability across languages. The most successful discriminant is degree of hesitancy with ER of 42.5%/28%, (EER: 33%), followed by average pause duration with ER 35%/45.56%, (EER: 40%). Although the research features a closed-set comparison, which is not very common in forensic reality, the results are still relevant for forensic phoneticians working on criminal cases or as expert witnesses. This study pioneers in forensically comparing Serbian and English as well as in forensically testing temporal parameters on bilingual speakers. Further research should focus on comparing two stress-timed or two syllable-timed languages to test whether they will be more comparable in terms of temporal aspects of speech.

Identyfikacja parametrów czasowych mowy spontanicznej mówców kryminalistycznych w przypadku niedopasowania językowego: język serbski jako L1 i język angielski jako L2

The purpose of the research is to examine the possibility of forensic speaker identification if question and suspect sample are in different languages using temporal parameters (articulation rate, speaking rate, degree of hesitancy, percentage of pauses, average pause duration). The corpus includes 10 female native speakers of Serbian who are proficient in English. The parameters are tested using Bayesian likelihood ratio formula in 40 same-speaker and 360 different-speaker pairs, including estimation of error rates, equal error rates and Overall Likelihood Ratio. One-way ANOVA is performed to determine whether inter-speaker variability is higher than intra- speaker variability across languages. The most successful discriminant is degree of hesitancy with ER of 42.5%/28%, (EER: 33%), followed by average pause duration with ER 35%/45.56%, (EER: 40%). Although the research features a closed-set comparison, which is not very common in forensic reality, the results are still relevant for forensic phoneticians working on criminal cases or as expert witnesses. This study pioneers in forensically comparing Serbian and English as well as in forensically testing temporal parameters on bilingual speakers. Further research should focus on comparing two stress-timed or two syllable-timed languages to test whether they will be more comparable in terms of temporal aspects of speech. Celem badania jest analiza możliwości identyfikacji mówcy kryminalistycznego i sądowego podczas zadawania pytań w różnych językach, z wykorzystaniem parametrów temporalnych. (wskaźnik artykulcji, wskaźnik mowy, stopień niezdecydowania, odsetek pauz, średnia czas trwania pauzy). Korpus obejmuje 10 mówców kobiet z Serbii, które znają język angielksi na poziomie zaawwansowanym. Patrametry są badane z wykorzystaniem beayesowskiego wzoru wskaźnika prawdopodobieństwa w 40 parach tcyh samych mówców i w 230 parach różnych mówców, z uwzględnieniem szacunku wskaźnika błędu, równiego wskaźnika błędu i Całościowego Wskaźnika Prawdopodobieństwa. badanie ma charakter pionierski w zakresie językoznawstwa sądowego i kryminalistycznego por1) ónawczego w parze jezyka serbskiego i angielskiego, podobnie, jak analiza parametrów temporalnych mówców bilingwalnych. Dalsze badania inny skoncentrować się na porównaniu języków z rytmem akcentowym i z rytmem sylabicznym.

The influence of magnetic field on the one-electron spectrum of two-dimensional electron gas

U ovom diplomskom radu promatrali smo utjecaj magnetskog polja na dvodimenzionalni plin slobodnih elektrona, na elektron na dvodimenzionalnoj kristalnoj rešetci te na elektron na kvazi - jednodimenzionalnoj kristalnoj rešetci. Uveli smo magnetsko polje u sustav načelom minimalne supstitucije te opisali neke klasične aspekte polja poput magnetovodljivosti u okviru Sommerfeldovog modela metala. Proučavane su kvazi-klasične veličine poput elektronskih orbita u faznom prostoru i ciklotronske mase. U smislu kvantnomehaničkog opisa riješena je Schrödingerova jednadžba za elektron u magnetskom polju u tri karakteristične geometrije: slobodni elektron, elektron na pravokutnoj kristalnoj rešetci u okviru aproksimacije čvrste veze i elektron u kvazi-jednodimenzionalnoj geometriji te je izračunat pripadni jednoelektronski spektar i valne funkcije. Pokazano je da magnetsko polje ima fundamentalni učinak "jednodimenzionalizacije" elektronskog spektra, a na pravokutnoj rešetci vodi na pojavu iznimno kompleksnog spektra fraktalne strukture (tzv. "Hofstadterov leptir“). Također, iz sadržaja diplomskog rada, odabrana je prikladna tema koja je prilagođena za nastavni sat iz predmeta Fizika u prirodoslovnoj gimnaziji.In this diploma thesis we considered the influence of the magnetic field on two-dimensional electron gas, the electrons on a two-dimensional lattice and the electrons in a quasi – one - dimensional lattice. We introduced the magnetic field in the system using the principle of minimal substitution and described some aspects of classical fields like magneto – conductance within the Sommerfeld model of metals. We have also studied the quasi-classical traits of the electron gas in the magnetic field like electronic orbits in the phase space and the cyclotron mass. In terms of quantum-mechanical description we solved the Schrödinger equation for the electron in the magnetic field in three characteristic geometries: free electron, electron on a rectangular lattice within the tight – binding approximation, and an electron in a quasi-one-dimensional geometry and calculated the corresponding one-electron energy spectrum and wave functions. We showed that the magnetic field has a fundamental effect of “one - dimensioning” the electronic spectrum, while the rectangular lattice leads to the occurrence of a highly complex spectrum with fractal structure (so-called "Hofstadter's butterfly"). Furthermore, we selected a suitable topic from the contents of this diploma thesis and adapted it to form a Physics lesson in the high school

Pile integrity testing: Testing and results analysis

U radu su prikazani karakteristični primeri ispitivanja integriteta šipova sa analizom rezultata, pri čemu se metodologija ispitivanja oslanja na postojeće ASTM standarde, ali i na metodologiju ispitivanja prikazanu u naučnom radu "Ispitivanje integriteta i nosivosti šipova: metodologija i klasifikacija", koji je publikovan u ovom časopisu. Ispitivanja šipova sprovedena su primenom licenciranih oprema za test integriteta šipa sa senzorom (SIT) i test integriteta šipa sa sondama (CSL). Ispitivanjima su prikazane korektne i problematične situacije, koje se pojavljuju prilikom analize integriteta šipova. Ukazano je na aspekte primene talasne teorije, ali i na procesiranja signala i numeričke analize. Takođe, posebno je skrenuta pažnja na potrebu izrade plana ispitivanja integriteta šipova kod objekata s velikim brojem šipova.The paper presents typical examples of pile integrity testing and the results analysis, whereby the testing methodology relies on existing ASTM standards, as well as on the testing methodology presented in the scientific paper Pile Integrity and Load Testing: Methodology and Classification, published in this journal. The pile tests were conducted using licensed equipment for Sonic Integrity Test (SIT) and Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL). The tests have shown the correct and problematic situations that arise when analyzing pile integrity. Some aspects of the wave theory implementation, but also of signal processing and numerical analysis have been indicated. Also, the need to develop a plan for testing the integrity of piles in structures with a large number of piles has been emphasized

The systematization of analytical and numerical methods of landslide stability calculation

Na osnovu analize mnogih naučnih radova, autori su dali prikaz sopstvene originalne sistematizacije analitičkih i numeričkih metoda proračuna stabilnosti klizišta, pri čemu mnoge od njih tek treba dodatno da se unaprede, implementiraju i testiraju na kompleksnim 3D modelima klizišta. Metode proračuna stabilnosti klizišta klasifikovane su u pet grupa: analitičke jednokoračne, analitičke višekoračne (iteracije kliznih površi), numeričke višekoračne (iteracije kliznih površi), numeričke inkrementalno-iterativne (nelinearne) analize i numeričke inkrementalno-iterativne (nelinearne) analize, uz primenu numeričke integracije u vremenskom domenu. Primenom sprovedene sistematizacije metoda proračuna stabilnosti klizišta, može se vrlo efikasno razmotriti koji je tip metode optimalan za analizu klizišta i koji tip metode je potrebno koristiti u fazi preliminarnih i finalnih analiza za naučna istraživanja i stručne projekte.According to the analysis of a large number of scientific papers, the authors of the paper presented their own original systematization of the analytical and numerical methods of landslide stability calculation, with a large part of them still to be further improved, implemented and tested on complex 3D landslide models. Methods for calculating the stability of the landslide are classified into five groups: analytical single-step, analytical multi-step (iterations of sliding surfaces), numerical multi-step (iterations of sliding surfaces), numerical incremental-iterative (nonlinear) analysis and numerical incremental-iterative (nonlinear) analysis, applying numerical integration in the time domain. By using the systematization method of calculating the stability of the landslide it can be very effective to consider which type of method is optimal for landslide analysis and which type of method should be considered in the phase of preliminary and final analysis for scientific research and expert projects

Segmentation of local food consumers based on altruistic motives and perceived purchasing barriers: a Croatian study

This is the first empirical study which has segmented consumers based on their altruistic motives and perceived barriers in purchasing local food in a developing country, which has received little prior research attention and as such, provides a valuable contribution to the local food research stream. An empirical study was conducted via an online questionnaire on a sample of 402 Croatian local food consumers. In such a way we identified two consumer segments: (1) embedded local food consumers and (2) disinclined local food consumers. Embedded local food consumers report a significantly higher mean score concerning altruistic motives and a significantly lower mean score for perceived barriers in purchasing local food compared to the other segment. Also, they buy and consume local food more often and put more emphasis on personal motives, such as freshness, quality, and taste. Embedded local food consumers are more satisfied with the current local food supply and are willing to pay higher prices for local food as compared to disinclined local food consumers. This empirical study fills the evident research gap in local food literature regarding altruistic motives and barriers in purchasing locally produced food

Prognostic Indicators for First and Repeated Hospitalizations in Heart Failure Patients with Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a progressive clinical syndrome defined by changes in the myocardial structure, which lead to predominant systolic myocardial function impairment, with a left ventricle ejection of fraction ≤40%. The rehospitalization burden in HFrEF patients (pts) remains very high, with poor quality of life, increased mortality and large healthcare expenditures. In this research project, we investigated the risk factors for first and repeated hospitalization in pts with HFrEF. This retrospective study included 50 adult pts with a diagnosis of HFrEF and who were within the age range of 55 to 89 years old and of both sexes. Demographic and clinical data (HFrEF etiology, renal function parameters, complete blood count, markers of inflammation, electrocardiogram, troponin I, NTproBNP, echocardiographic parameters and comorbidities data) were collected from the pts’ medical histories. Statistical analysis was performed via Fischer’s exact test, the Shapiro-Wilk test and the Spearman correlation coefficient. This study included 70% male and 30% female HFrEF pts. Males were younger in both group of pts and had a higher incidence of rehospitalization. The most important HFrEF etiologic risk factors are arterial hypertension (82%), coronary heart disease (54%), atrial fibrillation (52%) and diabetes mellitus (40%). The most important noncardiac comorbidity related with the first HFrEF hospitalization is pneumonia (P=0.03), while progression of left ventricle systolic and diastolic dysfunction is related to rehospitalization risk (left ventricle end systolic diameter, P=0.003; diastolic dysfunction degree, P=0.04). The troponin level was associated with an increased risk of rehospitalization, but this was not statistically significant at this sample size (troponin I, p=0.10). Following the first and repeated hospitalizations of HFrEF pts, comorbidities, ageing and gender difference are crucial to HFrEF development, while echocardiographic parameters and biomarkers critically affect HFrEF rehospitalization risk

FOOD NEOPHOBIA AS A DETERMINANT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN ETHNIC FOOD CONSUMPTION

Since ethnic food consumption has proven to be a fast-growing food trend, this study examines the impact of food neophobia on consumer behaviour in ethnic food consumption. The aim was also to identify consumers\u27 motives for visiting an ethnic food restaurant, the importance of certain attributes of ethnic food in restaurants, and consumers’ attitudes towards ethnic food. Study was conducted via an online questionnaire on a sample of 230 consumers in Croatia. Statistical analysis included univariate, factor and bivariate analysis (SPSS, version 21). Based on the level of food neophobia, two groups of consumer segments were identified: food neophilic and food neophobic consumers. Food neophilic consumers are more motivated to visit an ethnic food restaurant in order to meet new flavors and new cultures. Also, they have more positive attitudes towards ethnic food compared to food neophobic consumers. Respondents with higher level of food neophobia consider origin to be a more important attribute of ethnic food as compared to those who have lower food neophobia level. Since food neophobia has influence on consumer’s preferences toward ethnic food in restaurants, it is an important issue for ethnic food restaurant sector and ethnic food marketers

Pile integrity and load testing: Methodology and classification

U radu su prikazane metodologija i klasifikacija ispitivanja integriteta i nosivosti šipova, u saglasnosti sa važećim inostranim standardima, ali i sa sopstvenim definisanim segmentima unapređivanja standarda i sopstvenim definicijama određenih ključnih elemenata. Klasifikacija je sprovedena po tipovima testova u kojima su jasno definisani: tok ispitivanja šipova, metode analize i obrade rezultata ispitivanja. Pored osnovne podele testova ispitivanja šipova na testove integriteta i testove nosivosti, dodatno je definisana i grupa testova kontrole bušotine kod bušenih šipova, s obzirom na to što je za pravilno formiranje bušotine, kada je reč o bušenim šipovima, neophodno prethodno ispuniti određene kvalitativno- kvantitativne kriterijume. Ovako prikazane metodologija i klasifikacija ispitivanja integriteta i nosivosti šipova prvenstveno služe za edukativne svrhe inženjera građevine i geotehnike koji se bave ovom problematikom, da dodatno donese novine na ovom polju ispitivanja i da dodatno pojasne sve elemente ispitivanja, budući da se u praksi vrlo često susreću protivrečna mišljenja i nesuglasice oko detalja ispitivanja.The paper presents the methodology and classification of pile integrity and load testing, in compliance with current foreign standards, as well as our own defined segments of standard improvement and our own definitions of certain key elements. The classification has been conducted according to the test types which clearly define the pile testing process, analysis methods, and test results processing. Beside the basic division of pile testing to integrity tests and load tests, there is also an additionally defined group of shaft control tests in the case of bored piles, since for the proper shaft formation, when it comes to bored piles, certain qualitative-quantitative criteria must be fulfilled beforehand. Presented in this way, the methodology and classification of pile integrity and load tests serves, primarily, an educational purpose for civil and geotechnics engineers who deal with this issue, to additionally introduce innovations in this field of testing and clarify all the elements of the testing since contradictory opinions and disagreements regarding the testing details are quite common in practice