Effective Speech Communication Research Articles

Electromyogram-Based Lip-Reading via Unobtrusive Dry Electrodes and Machine Learning Methods.

Lip-reading provides an effective speech communication interface for people with voice disorders and for intuitive human-machine interactions. Existing systems are generally challenged by bulkiness, obtrusiveness, and poor robustness against environmental interferences. The lack of a truly natural and unobtrusive system for converting lip movements to speech precludes the continuous use and wide-scale deployment of such devices. Here, the design of a hardware-software architecture to capture, analyze, and interpret lip movements associated with either normal or silent speech is presented. The system can recognize different and similar visemes. It is robust in a noisy or dark environment. Self-adhesive, skin-conformable, and semi-transparent dry electrodes are developed to track high-fidelity speech-relevant electromyogram signals without impeding daily activities. The resulting skin-like sensors can form seamless contact with the curvilinear and dynamic surfaces of the skin, which is crucial for a high signal-to-noise ratio and minimal interference. Machine learning algorithms are employed to decode electromyogram signals and convert them to spoken words. Finally, the applications of the developed lip-reading system in augmented reality and medical service are demonstrated, which illustrate the great potential in immersive interaction and healthcare applications.

FEATURES OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES OF THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND RISKS

The article is devoted to the study of the specifics of political communication in the modern world. As an example, we study virtual communities in the Telegram messenger and the VKontakte social network. The text examines the specifics of the modern digital era, and, in particular, its phenomenon as virtual political communication, as one of the main horizontal ways of communication between individuals. The author emphasizes the inherent nature of the process of mediatization of politics in the modern world, as well as such an important aspect of it as awareness of oneself as a citizen as a direct participant in the implementation of power interactions. Special emphasis in the work is placed on the practices that currently exist in the Russian Federation. In particular, there is an increase in the interest of Russians in political events and, as a result, taking into account the global political situation, not only the growth of the popularity of VKontakte and Telegram, but also the emergence of new innovations, as well as the growth of the popularity of the former ones. There are three main groups of publics: media; communities of political actors; around topical key political issues. The changes in political communication between citizens and the state are investigated. The article provides recommendations on how best to carry out this interaction from the point of view of public authorities: high-quality visual content with an emphasis on concise videos and “presence effect”; user-oriented content marketing; effective speech communication; temporal strategy. There is a request for how, in the conditions of numerous fake and discrediting publications, to increase confidence in public authorities at all levels.

Examining the relationship between prospective teachers' listening skills, reading habits, effective speech self-efficacy, writing dispositions and communication skills: Structural equation modeling approach

Conceptually, although the effectiveness of communication is generally associated with the development of language skills, studies that model this relationship comprehensively are limited. Based on this, the current study examines the relationship between different linguistic variables (listening skill, attitude towards reading habit, speech self-efficacy, and writing disposition), with their own and communication skills. The study data was collected from 566 prospective teachers in Turkey. As a result of the study, the theoretical structure between linguistic variables and communication skills has been statistically proven. In the model, it was seen that the model-data fit was at a good level (χ²/df=4.46, CFI=.955, RMSEA=.078, SRMR=.033). The proposed model indicates that listening skill affects communication skills at a medium level and speech self-efficacy at a high level. In addition, In addition, writing disposition affects communication skills indirectly through speech self-efficacy, and reading habit affects communication skills indirectly through both listening skills and speech self-efficacy. The highest relationship is between listening skill and speech self-efficacy. Also, the relationships between all variables are significant. The study supports existing hypotheses about the role language plays in communication skills.

Лексика говора села Каменное Октябрьского района ХМАО-Югры в аспекте межъязыковых и междиалектных контактов

The aim of the work is a semantic-thematic analysis of the dialect vocabulary of the Kamennoye village in the Oktyabrsky district of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District-Yugra. The work considers more than 100 lexical units obtained by the field method. The scientific originality of the work lies in the fact that the vocabulary of the named dialect for the first time becomes the object of scientific research. As a result, it was established that the basis of its vocabulary is the North Russian dialect continuum. A number of lexemes are borrowed from the South Russian dialects, sociolects and the contact Khanty language. The adopted lexical units contribute to the effective speech communication of residents in the multiethnic environment of the village, as well as the preservation of the dialect.

Listening skills of schoolchildren as an important factor of understanding and contemplation

Oral speech presupposes the presence of listeners, IE. in its essence, it is intended for interpretation. Oral treatment of people is of great importance to the ability to listen traditionally in different situations. Of course, the ability to listen to the interlocutor without interrupting his speech is great in business relations, and sometimes plays a decisive role: business conversations, negotiations, discussions, disputes. Another point for business communication is very relevant: in the process of communication, General Knowledge, Common Interests, goals and mutual understanding are the starting points of effective speech communication, which form the "speech plan" and "audience plan". When these plans coincide, an ideal situation is created for the perception of oral speech, which is associated with a certain influence on the consciousness and feelings of the audience.

The category of politeness in different linguocultural traditions

In this article the principles of effective speech communication, general provisions of the theory of politeness have been widely discussed and the definition of the concepts of “politeness”, “interrupting a conversation” has been formulated as well. The article contains certain theoretical and practical ways upon expressing politeness in different languages on the material of phrases implying polite interruption in business discourse in terms of the linguocultural traditions of the category of politeness occurring in the given languages. The article also discusses some critiques of the most commonly used theories of politeness, and highlights some of the trends in which these critiques might help to advance researches on politeness in the future.

A survey on heliumspeech communications in saturation diving

With the development of society and the progress of technology, more and more ocean activities are carried out. It results in booming of deep-sea diving. The use of helium-oxygen mixture (as a kind of breathing gas) solves the physiological problems of divers in saturated diving, but it brings about the Heliumspeech voice communication problem, the drop of speech intelligibility. There is no doubt that the effective speech communication must be provided for supporting the life and work of divers in deep-sea. This paper describes the mechanism of forming heliumspeech, discusses the effects of pressure and helium environment on the speech spectrum, compares the pros and cons of the time-domain and frequency-domain unscrambling techniques, shows the challenges in heliumspeech communications. Finally, it briefly introduces the deep learning, and points out that deep learning/machine learning may be a perfectly unscrambling technique.

EDUTAINMENT AS CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE EDUCATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN HIGHER SCHOOLS

Currently, the social order for higher education is significantly focused on the formation of foreign language communicative competence and the development of communicative skills in foreign languages of a university graduate, allowing the future specialist to carry out effective speech communication in professional and general cultural fields. The article discusses the features of innovative educational technology, Edutainment. The genesis of the concept of is presented. The article is devoted to the review of the educational tools of edutainment, which can be used in the educational process of university education. The works of foreign and domestic researchers, addressing the concept of technology education are analyzed and systematized. A brief chronological note is given on the emergence and establishment of abroad and in Russian didactics. The analysis and generalization of the available domestic and authentic pedagogical literature on this issue are given. The shortcomings of the existing definitions of are identified. The authors of the article understand edutainment as an exclusive educational technology, considered as a combination of modern technical and didactic teaching tools, which is based on the concept of learning through entertainment. The main difference between edutainment and the modern paradigm of learning is that the subject takes an active part in the educational process. The result of the interaction of an informatively entertaining object and an active subject in learning is knowledge, skills, individual experience, and subjective emotions. Assignments in the technology of should correspond to three pedagogical principles: the connection of theory with practice, consistency, and accessibility. The article proves that edutainment can be attributed to innovative educational technologies.

Upgraded NLMS algorithm for speech enhancement with sparse and dispersive impulse responses

To have the effective speech communication, the information should be clearly passed in a noise-free environment. However, in real-world environment, the existence of background noise degrades the performance of the system. Based on the blind source separation strategy, various adaptive algorithms are designed and implemented using both dispersive impulse response and sparse impulse response. Even though the existing dual fast normalized least mean square algorithm works well under different noisy situations and gives a good performance, the problem is that it involves large number of processing steps. To overcome the complexity in finding the signal prediction parameter and to improve the performance of speech enhancement, we propose three adaptive filtering algorithms namely revised twofold rapid normalized least mean square algorithm, diminished twofold normalized least mean square algorithm and upgraded balanced twofold normalized least mean square algorithm (UBTNLMS). Taking the performance objective criteria into account, these algorithms have been tested for segmental signal-to-noise ratio, segmental mean square error, signal-to-noise ratio, mean square error and cepstral distance. On comparing the performance of the existing and proposed algorithms, UBTNLMS performs better than the other algorithms.

Evidence-Based Occupational Hearing Screening I: Modeling the Effects of Real-World Noise Environments on the Likelihood of Effective Speech Communication.

The objectives of this study were to (1) identify essential hearing-critical job tasks for public safety and law enforcement personnel; (2) determine the locations and real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed; (3) characterize each noise environment in terms of its impact on the likelihood of effective speech communication, considering the effects of different levels of vocal effort, communication distances, and repetition; and (4) use this characterization to define an objective normative reference for evaluating the ability of individuals to perform essential hearing-critical job tasks in noisy real-world environments. Data from five occupational hearing studies performed over a 17-year period for various public safety agencies were analyzed. In each study, job task analyses by job content experts identified essential hearing-critical tasks and the real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed. These environments were visited, and calibrated recordings of each noise environment were made. The extended speech intelligibility index (ESII) was calculated for each 4-sec interval in each recording. These data, together with the estimated ESII value required for effective speech communication by individuals with normal hearing, allowed the likelihood of effective speech communication in each noise environment for different levels of vocal effort and communication distances to be determined. These likelihoods provide an objective norm-referenced and standardized means of characterizing the predicted impact of real-world noise on the ability to perform essential hearing-critical tasks. A total of 16 noise environments for law enforcement personnel and eight noise environments for corrections personnel were analyzed. Effective speech communication was essential to hearing-critical tasks performed in these environments. Average noise levels, ranged from approximately 70 to 87 dBA in law enforcement environments and 64 to 80 dBA in corrections environments. The likelihood of effective speech communication at communication distances of 0.5 and 1 m was often less than 0.50 for normal vocal effort. Likelihood values often increased to 0.80 or more when raised or loud vocal effort was used. Effective speech communication at and beyond 5 m was often unlikely, regardless of vocal effort. ESII modeling of nonstationary real-world noise environments may prove an objective means of characterizing their impact on the likelihood of effective speech communication. The normative reference provided by these measures predicts the extent to which hearing impairments that increase the ESII value required for effective speech communication also decrease the likelihood of effective speech communication. These predictions may provide an objective evidence-based link between the essential hearing-critical job task requirements of public safety and law enforcement personnel and ESII-based hearing assessment of individuals who seek to perform these jobs.

Beyond the Audiogram: Application of Models of Auditory Fitness for Duty to Assess Communication in the Real World.

This manuscript provides a Commentary on a paper published in the current issue of Ear and Hearing and the companion paper published in the International Journal of Audiology (Soli et al. 2018a, 2018b). These papers report background, rationale, and results of a novel modeling approach to assess "auditory fitness for duty" or an individual's ability to perform hearing-critical tasks related to their job, based on their likelihood of effective speech communication in the listening environment in which the task is performed.

Evidence-based occupational hearing screening II: validation of a screening methodology using measures of functional hearing ability

Objective: Validate use of the Extended Speech Intelligibility Index (ESII) for prediction of speech intelligibility in non-stationary real-world noise environments. Define a means of using these predictions for objective occupational hearing screening for hearing-critical public safety and law enforcement jobs. Design: Analyses of predicted and measured speech intelligibility in recordings of real-world noise environments were performed in two studies using speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) and intelligibility measures. ESII analyses of the recordings were used to predict intelligibility. Noise recordings were made in prison environments and at US Army facilities for training ground and airborne forces. Speech materials included full bandwidth sentences and bandpass filtered sentences that simulated radio transmissions. Study sample: A total of 22 adults with normal hearing (NH) and 15 with mild–moderate hearing impairment (HI) participated in the two studies. Results: Average intelligibility predictions for individual NH and HI subjects were accurate in both studies (r2 ≥ 0.94). Pooled predictions were slightly less accurate (0.78 ≤ r2 ≤ 0.92). Conclusions: An individual’s SRT and audiogram can accurately predict the likelihood of effective speech communication in noise environments with known ESII characteristics, where essential hearing-critical tasks are performed. These predictions provide an objective means of occupational hearing screening.

Military noise limits: Design criteria versus operational effectiveness

Noise requirements in military environments differ significantly from typical industrial or occupational situations. Both in combat and in training, mission success requires offensive equipment and weapons to be more lethal and survivable than those used by the adversary. Higher muzzle velocities, heavier projectiles, and more powerful engines result in high levels of both steady-state and impulsive noise and an increased risk of hearing loss for the users. Weapons firing can expose the user to more energy in a single event than typically experienced in a working lifetime of occupational exposure. In addition, military operations require effective speech communication while minimizing auditory detection of equipment by the adversary. Producing material suitable for various forms of military operations requires unique design criteria often exceeding civilian national or international standards. To meet these unique and often contradicting requirements, the U.S. military developed a military design standard for noise limits. This standard (MIL-STD-1474) was last revised in 1997. This paper describes the effort of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force to update the standard to permit production and fielding of military systems designed to maximize Warfighter effectiveness, while minimizing hearing damage caused by their use.

Speech intelligibility in hospitals

In hospitals, background noise has been shown to be problematic, not only for the patients but also for the staff. With respect to staff members, perceived stress and psychosocial factors can be affected negatively by noise. One particular factor that noise can inhibit is effective speech communication. Speech communication is essential for functions such as evaluation, admittance and treatment of patients. This paper will discuss results from measurements made in several different hospital units where traditional speech intelligibility metrics were analyzed. Additionally, newer analysis techniques such as Noise Occurrence Rates were investigated for their potential usefulness in speech intelligibility applications. Preliminary results show that in general, the hospital units show “poor” to “marginal” Speech Intelligibility (SII) qualitative scores. The results of this study help to better explain how speech is understood in various locations within the hospitals and can aid in hospital designs that support speech communication.

Intelligibility, listening difficulty and listening efficiency in auralized classrooms

In order to obtain an effective speech communication in rooms it is advisable, besides reaching the full intelligibility of words, to minimize the effort paid by the listener in the recognition of the speech material. This twofold requirement is not easily described by the current room acoustic indicators, which are mainly concerned either with a subjective rating by means of word recognition scores or with using listeners' impressions of reported listening difficulties. In this work, the problem is tackled by introducing the concept of "listening efficiency," which is defined as a combination of the accuracy of intelligibility and of the effort spent on achieving this goal. This indicator is here developed, and an application of the former and of the "listening efficiency" is presented in the field of classroom acoustics. Listening tests with pupils and adults were performed and the subsequent statistical analyses indicated several interesting findings. In particular, listening efficiency is able to clearly discriminate between equal intelligibility scores obtained under different acoustical conditions, permitting room acoustics to be tailored for specific groups, such as children.

Washington State’s Sustainable Schools Protocol.

With the High‐Performance Public Buildings Act signed into law in 2005, Washington State developed the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol as a goal‐setting and planning tool for school districts to clearly communicate design goals and meet requirements for state‐funded building projects. Based on the Collaborative for High Performance Schools Criteria and similar to the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol system requires school facility projects to achieve a minimum level of points in the categories related to site, water, materials, energy, indoor environmental quality, and innovation. A minimum acoustic performance level for classrooms and other learning spaces is the prerequisite to achieving up to three additional points with improved acoustic performance and audio enhancement. Although clearly a compromise, the acoustics related requirements and optional credits within the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol has set the starting point for supporting acoustically effective speech communication and learning environments for publicly funded schools in the State of Washington. This paper summarizes the development of the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol, current acoustical related credits, and lessons learned that may be useful for other jurisdictions considering the development of their own standards.

Factors affecting children’s speech communication in classrooms

A child’s ability to hear and communicate with speech in the classroom is influenced by several factors, including talker characteristics (level, clarity, dialect), the acoustical environment (noise level, reverberance), and listener characteristics (hearing status, cognitive development, language level, exposure to English). This presentation will review and assess the relative contribution of each factor to the communication requirements of the classroom. An emphasis will be placed on the large individual differences in listener characteristics that are likely to exist in contemporary classrooms, and their impact on the requirements of the acoustic environment for effective speech communication. Recent findings from this laboratory and from other researchers that document the range of speech communication abilities in both difficult and easy listening conditions among school-age children will be reviewed. Finally, an initial proposal for acceptable levels of background noise and reverberance in classrooms based on these findings will be offered. The rationale for this proposal is that noise and reverberance levels must be low enough to allow children with a wide range of listener characteristics to communicate with speech easily and effectively in the classroom. [See NOISE-CON Proceedings for full paper.]

Deployment of human-machine dialogue systems.

The deployment of systems for human-to-machine communication by voice requires overcoming a variety of obstacles that affect the speech-processing technologies. Problems encountered in the field might include variation in speaking style, acoustic noise, ambiguity of language, or confusion on the part of the speaker. The diversity of these practical problems encountered in the "real world" leads to the perceived gap between laboratory and "real-world" performance. To answer the question "What applications can speech technology support today?" the concept of the "degree of difficulty" of an application is introduced. The degree of difficulty depends not only on the demands placed on the speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies but also on the expectations of the user of the system. Experience has shown that deployment of effective speech communication systems requires an iterative process. This paper discusses general deployment principles, which are illustrated by several examples of human-machine communication systems.

Teachers’ perceptions of competencies needed for effective speech communication and drama instruction

The purposes of this study were to (1) identify the competencies needed by effective speech communication/drama teachers, (2) compare and contrast these statements with the recommendations of the SCA/ATA Joint Task Force, and (3) explore the implications of these statements for competency‐based teacher education programs. Findings indicated that (1) teachers view effective educators as classroom teachers first and subject matter specialists second; (2) a profile of an effective teacher suggests a professionally trained person who enjoys teaching, is enthusiastic and positive in inspiring learning, and possesses personality traits which contribute to fair and consistent student management; (3) the SCA/ATA Joint Task Force recommendations and the teacher‐generated statements both emphasized the necessity of careful academic training yet differed on the importance of teacher personality; and (4) both sets of competencies reflect process‐product concerns which can be used in future speech communication/drama teacher education.