Picture Description Research Articles

DementiaBank: Theoretical Rationale, Protocol, and Illustrative Analyses.

Dementia from Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized primarily by a significant decline in memory abilities; however, language abilities are also commonly affected and may precede the decline of other cognitive abilities. To study the progression of language, there is a need for open-access databases that can be used to build algorithms to produce translational models sensitive enough to detect early declines in language abilities. DementiaBank is an open-access repository of transcribed video/audio data from communicative interactions from people with dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and controls. The aims of this tutorial are to (a) describe the newly established standardized DementiaBank discourse protocol, (b) describe the Delaware corpus data, and (c) provide examples of automated linguistic analyses that can be conducted with the Delaware corpus data and describe additional DementiaBank resources. The DementiaBank discourse protocol elicits four types of discourse: picture description, story narrative, procedural, and personal narrative. The Delaware corpus currently includes data from 20 neurotypical adults and 33 adults with MCI from possible AD who completed the DementiaBank discourse protocol and a cognitive-linguistic battery. Language samples were video- and audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and uploaded to DementiaBank. The protocol materials and transcription programs can be accessed for free via the DementiaBank website. Illustrative analyses show the potential of the Delaware corpus data to help understand discourse metrics at the individual and group levels. In addition, they highlight analyses that could be used across TalkBank's other clinical banks (e.g., AphasiaBank). Information is also included on manual and automatic speech recognition transcription methods. DementiaBank is a shared online database that can facilitate research efforts to address the gaps in knowledge about language changes associated with MCI and dementia from AD. Identifying early language markers could lead to improved assessment and treatment approaches for adults at risk for dementia.

Do Second Graders Adjust Their Language by Discourse Context?

Children's ability to adjust one's language according to discourse context is important for success in academic settings. This study examined whether second graders vary in linguistic and discourse features depending on discourse contexts, that is, when describing pictures in contextualized (describing the picture to an examiner while looking at it together) and decontextualized (pretending to describe the picture to a friend while sitting in front of the examiner) conditions. A total of 330 English-speaking second graders in the United States (M age = 7.33 years; 53% boys; 55% Caucasian children, 35% African American children) described three pictures in contextualized and decontextualized conditions. Children's picture descriptions were transcribed verbatim and coded for linguistic (e.g., elaborated noun phrase) and discourse (e.g., proper character introduction, degree of decontextualization) features. Type-token ratio was higher in the contextualized condition than in the decontextualized condition, whereas certain types of elaborated noun phrases (e.g., simple descriptive noun phrase, noun phrase with postmodification), coordinating conjunctions, and nonclauses occurred more frequently in the decontextualized condition, controlling for total productivity and student demographics. The proportion of proper character introduction was higher in the decontextualized condition, whereas higher degrees of decontextualization and complex perspective-taking were found in the contextualized condition. Various linguistic and discourse cues illustrated the extent to which primary grade students employ their discourse knowledge when producing oral language.

Structural priming of code-switches in non-shared-word-order utterances: The effect of lexical repetition

AbstractCode-switching is generally dispreferred at points of non-shared word order across a bilingual's two languages. In priming studies, this dispreference persists even following exposure to a code-switched non-shared-word-order utterance. The present study delves deeper into the scope of code-switching priming by investigating whether lexical repetition across target and prime, a factor known to boost structural priming, can increase code-switching at points of word order divergence. Afrikaans–English bilinguals (n=46) heard prime sentences in which word order, lexical repetition, and switch position were manipulated and subsequently produced code-switched picture descriptions. The results show that lexical repetition boosts the priming of code-switching in a non-shared word order. The findings demonstrate that code-switching in production is affected by a dynamic interplay between factors both language-internal (i.e., word order) and language-external (i.e., priming, and specifically lexical repetition).

Abstract WMP32: Changes In Word Frequency And Articulatory Complexity In Aphasic Discourse Over The First 6 Months After Stroke

Most people with aphasia (PWA) improve in content of discourse over the first 6 months of stroke, but the extent to which increased content is compensatory, by learning to use more frequent or less complex words, is unknown. We hypothesized that PWA who improve in content units (CU; concepts produced by healthy speakers in describing the picture) in picture description show an increase in word frequency and decrease in articulatory complexity from acute stroke to 3 and 6 months. Methods: PWA <5 days of left hemisphere ischemic stroke (n=35) and age-matched controls (n=48) described the NIHSS picture. Patients were retested at 3 and 6 months post-stroke. We evaluated CU, articulatory complexity (https://unccard.shinyapps.io/shiny-woRdcomplex-2/) and word frequency (log10 frequency among 51 million words+1) each time. We used 2-tailed t-tests to compare groups and paired t-tests to evaluate changes from 0 to 3 and from 0 to 6 months after stroke. Results: Compared to controls, PWA produced fewer CU (mean 19.4 vs 47.6; t (df81) = 7.9; p<0.00001), with lower articulatory complexity (mean 3.0 vs 3.5; t (df81) = 2.8; p=0.006) and lower frequency (3.0 vs 3.3; t(df81) = 2.1; p=0.04) acutely. The 20 participants who improved in CU at 3 months showed an increase in word frequency at 3 months (mean 2.7 to 3.4; t (df19)= -2.0, p= 0.03), while those who failed to improve in CU showed no change. The 19 patients who improved at 6 months also tended increase in word frequency (from 3.0 to 3.5; t (df18)= -1.6; p= 0.07), while those who failed to improve showed a decrease (from 3.4 to 2.7; ns). Those who improved in CU showed an increase in articulatory complexity (mean 2.7 to 3.5, t(df18)= -2.3; p=0.03) at 3 months and 6 months (mean 3.3). Those who failed to improve in CU showed the opposite trend toward decrease in complexity (mean 3.3 acutely, 3.1 at 3 months, and 2.4 at 6 months; ns). Conclusions: Improved content in discourse by aphasic individuals over the first 6 months after stroke may in part reflect compensation by selecting more frequent words or increased function words (e.g. prepositions - which are high frequency) to describe a picture. Those who improve in content show an increase in articulatory complexity of words, indicating that increased complexity reflects improvement.

Visual attention across cultures: Similarities and differences in child development and maternal attention styles.

Previous cross-cultural research has described two different attention styles: a holistic style, characterized by context-sensitive processing, generally associated with interdependent cultural contexts, and an analytic style, a higher focus on salient objects, generally found in independent cultural contexts. Though a general assumption in the field is that attention styles are gradually socialized in culture-specific interactions in childhood, empirical evidence for the proximal mechanisms underlying this development is scarce. This study aimed to document the emergence of cross-cultural differences in attention styles in three cultural contexts differing in social orientations, namely in urban middle-class families from Münster, Germany (i.e., more independent context), and Kyoto, Japan, and Indigenous-heritage families from Cotacachi, Ecuador (i.e., more interdependent contexts). Furthermore, to test the assumption that caregivers' attention guidance is one of the forces driving differential development, we investigated how caregivers guide children's attention. In total, 270 children between 4 and 9 years of age and their mothers participated in three tasks: an eye-tracking task, a picture description task and a forced-choice recognition task. Results indicate a mixed pattern of findings: While some tasks revealed the expected cultural differences, namely a higher object focus in Münster compared to Kyoto and Cotacachi, others did not. Regarding caregivers' attention guidance, we found that mothers in Münster more strongly emphasized the focal object than mothers in Kyoto and Cotacachi. The results are discussed in terms of culture-specific developmental trajectories and the generalizability of attentional processes across tasks and cultural contexts. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We investigated visual attention styles in 4- to 9-year-old children and their mothers from urban Germany, urban Japan, and rural Ecuador in three different tasks. Special emphasis lied on mothers' verbal attention guidance toward their children as a proximal mechanism underlying the emergence of culture-specific attention styles. Mothers from urban Germany guided their children's attention in more analytic ways than mothers from urban Japan and rural Ecuador. The relevance of verbal attention guidance in the development of culture-specific attention styles has been demonstrated beyond the East-West dichotomy.

Hesitations in Primary Progressive Aphasia

Hesitations are often used by speakers in spontaneous speech not only to organise and prepare their speech but also to address any obstacles that may arise during delivery. Given the relationship between hesitation phenomena and motor and/or cognitive–linguistic control deficits, characterising the form of hesitation could be potentially useful in diagnosing specific speech and language disorders, such as primary progressive aphasia (PPA). This work aims to analyse the features of hesitations in patients with PPA compared to healthy speakers, with hesitations understood here as those related to speech planning, that is, silent or empty pauses, filled pauses, and lengthened syllables. Forty-three adults took part in this experiment, of whom thirty-two suffered from some form of PPA: thirteen from logopenic PPA (lvPPA), ten from nonfluent PPA (nfvPPA), and nine from semantic PPA (svPPA). The remaining 11 were healthy speakers who served as a control group. An analysis of audio data recorded when participants produced spontaneous speech for a picture description task showed that the frequency of silent pauses, especially those classified as long (>1000 ms) was particularly useful to distinguish PPA participants from healthy controls and also to differentiate among PPA types. This was also true, albeit to a lesser extent, of the frequency of filled pauses and lengthened syllables.

The longitudinal trajectory of discourse from the hyperacute to the chronic phase in mild to moderate poststroke aphasia recovery: A case series study.

Discourse analysis has recently received much attention in the aphasia literature. Even if post-stroke language recovery occurs throughout the longitudinal continuum of recovery, very few studies have documented discourse changes from the hyperacute to the chronic phases of recovery. To document a multilevel analysis of discourse changes from the hyperacute phase to the chronic phase of post-stroke recovery using a series of single cases study designs. Four people with mild to moderate post-stroke aphasia underwent four assessments (hyperacute: 0-24h; acute: 24-72h; subacute: 7-14 days; and chronic: 6-12 months post-onset). Three discourse tasks were performed at each time point: a picture description, a personal narrative and a story retelling. Multilevel changes in terms of macro- and microstructural aspects were analysed. The results of each discourse task were combined for each time point. Individual effect sizes were computed to evaluate the relative strength of changes in an early and a late recovery time frame. Macrostructural results revealed improvements throughout the recovery continuum in terms of coherence and thematic efficiency. Also, the microstructural results demonstrated linguistic output improvement for three out of four participants. Namely, lexical diversity and the number of correct information units/min showed a greater gain in the early compared with the late recovery phase. This study highlights the importance of investigating all discourse processing levels as the longitudinal changes in discourse operate differently at each phase of recovery. Overall results support future longitudinal discourse investigation in people with post-stroke aphasia. What is already known on the subject Multi-level discourse analysis allows for in-depth analysis of underlying discourse processes. To date, very little is known on the longitudinal discourse changes from aphasia onset through to the chronic stage of recovery. This study documents multi-level discourse features in four people with mild to moderate aphasia in the hyperacute, acute, subacute and chronic stage of post-stroke aphasia recovery. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The study found that most discourse variables demonstrated improvement throughout time. Macrostructural variables of coherence and thematic units improved throughout the continuum whereas microstructural variables demonstrated greater gains in the early compared to the late period of recovery. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study suggests that multilevel discourse analysis will allow a better understanding of post-stroke aphasia recovery, although more research is needed to determine the clinical utility of these findings. Future research may wish to investigate longitudinal discourse recovery in a larger sample of people with aphasia with heterogenous aphasia profiles and severities.

Detangling experiential, cognitive, and sociopsychological individual differences in second language speech learning: Cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations

AbstractIn this two-part study, we conducted both cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations on the relative weights of experiential, cognitive, and sociopsychological factors in adult L2 speech learning. In the cross-sectional phase (Study 1), speech was elicited from 73 Japanese speakers of English via a picture description task, and rated for accentedness and comprehensibility. These scores were linked to scores on a range of tests designed to measure aptitude, motivation, and anxiety. The results showed that comprehensibility was exclusively linked to experiential variables (e.g., the amount of L2 use outside classrooms), while accentedness was linked to phonemic coding ability and anxiety. In the longitudinal phase (Study 2), we tracked the same participants' L2 comprehensibility and accentedness development when they received four weeks of explicit pronunciation instruction. According to the results of pre- and post-tests, participants significantly improved the comprehensibility and accentedness of their speech regardless of cognitive and sociopsychological differences.

The Effects of Speech Task on Lexical Stress in Parkinson's Disease.

Hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by dysprosody, yet the literature is mixed with respect to how dysprosody affects the ability to mark lexical stress, possibly due to differences in speech tasks used to assess lexical stress. The purpose of this study was to compare how people with and without PD modulate acoustic dimensions of lexical stress-fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration-to mark lexical stress across three different speech tasks. Twelve individuals with mild-to-moderate idiopathic PD and 12 age- and sex-matched older adult controls completed three speech tasks: picture description, word production in isolation, and word production in lists. Outcome measures were the fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration of the vocalic segments of two trochees (initial stress) and two iambs (final stress) spoken in all three tasks. There were very few group differences. Both groups marked trochees by modulating intensity and fundamental frequency and iambs by modulating duration. Task had a significant impact on the stress patterns used by both groups. Stress patterns were most differentiated in words produced in isolation and least differentiated in lists of words. People with PD did not demonstrate impairments in the production of lexical stress, suggesting that dysprosody associated with PD does not impact all types of prosody in the same way. However, there were reduced distinctions in stress marking that were more apparent in trochees than iambs. In addition, the task used to assess prosody has a significant effect on all acoustic measures. Future research should focus on the use of connected speech tasks to obtain more generalizable measures of prosody in PD.

Noun canonicity in heritage speakers and monolingual speakers of Spanish

The present investigation examines the role of Spanish noun gender-correlated endings when accessing gender agreement in two different linguistic populations: Spanish-English bilingual heritage speakers and monolingual speakers of Spanish. This study analyzed data from 34 monolingual speakers of Spanish from the Dominican Republic and 44 heritage speakers of Spanish born in the United States who completed a picture naming task in Experiment 1 (determiner-noun agreement) and a picture description task in Experiment 2 (noun-adjective agreement). Results found that canonicity, particularly overt gender marking cues, seemed to have a facilitatory effect for monolingual speakers as seen by significantly faster naming times with transparent nouns on both experiments RTs analysis. However, within the heritage speaker group, no canonicity effects were found on either experiments RTs analyses indicating a difference between the monolingual and bilingual group. There was, however, an effect of noun canonicity in the accuracy rates of both experiments in the monolingual and bilingual group, specifically, a facilitatory effect of transparency, consonant with other studies with heritage speakers and/or monolingual speakers of Spanish (Hur, Lopez and Sanchez 2020; Montrul, Davidson, De La Fuente and Foote 2014; Montrul, De La Fuente, Davidson and Foote 2013; Alarcón 2011; Montrul, Foote and Perpiñán 2008). The main effects of canonicity and frequency found in Experiment 1 monolingual’s RTs analysis and the interaction between frequency and canonicity found in Experiment 2 strongly suggest that canonicity along with noun frequency (noun lexico-syntactic information) have a facilitatory effect in the gender agreement process. Therefore, these results corroborate the predictions of the Two-Route Hypothesis proposed by Gollan and Frost (2001) and psycholinguistic studies that have found a lexico-syntactic route and word-form route to gender access (Caffarra, Jansen and Barber 2014). Findings in the present study contribute to the understanding of different processing mechanisms in two adult populations and to our knowledge of the overall role of predictive nominal endings in gender agreement processes in both monolingual and heritage speakers of Spanish.

Measuring pragmatic competence of discourse output among Chinese-speaking individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Discourse analysis is one of the clinical methods commonly used to assess the language ability of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the majority of published analytic frameworks are not geared for highlighting the pragmatic aspect of discourse deficits in acquired language disorders, except for those designed for quantifying conversational samples. This study aimed to examine how pragmatic competence is impaired and reflected in spoken monologues in Chinese speakers with TBI. Discourse samples of five tasks (personal narrative, storytelling, procedural, single- and sequential picture description) were elicited from ten TBI survivors and their controls. Each discourse sample was measured using 16 indices (e.g., number of informative words, percentage of local/global coherence errors, repeated words or phrases) that corresponded to the four Gricean maxims. Twenty-five naïve Chinese speakers were also recruited to perform perceptual rating of the quality of all 50 TBI audio files (five discourse samples per TBI participant), in terms of erroneous/inaccurate information, adequacy of amount of information given, as well as degree of organization and clarity. The maxim of quantity best predicted TBI's pragmatic impairments. Naïve listeners' perception of pragmatics deficits correlated to measures on total and informative words, as well as number and length of terminable units. Clinically, personal narrative and storytelling tasks could better elicit violations in pragmatics. Applying Gricean maxims in monologic oral narratives could capture the hallmark underlying pragmatic problems in TBI. This may help provide an additional approach of clinically assessing social communications in and subsequent management of TBI.

Picnic, Accident or Cookies? A Systematic Approach to Guide the Selection of the Picture Definition Tasks in Linguistic Assessment

Picture description tasks are used to elicit language samples in individuals with aphasia and other cognitive disorders. However, task selection may affect the type of language variables elicited. In this study, our goal is to compare the strengths and the weaknesses of the two internationally used picture description tasks with a novel picture description task developed specifically for Turkish-speaking individuals. In sum, 20 cognitively healthy individuals with a mean age of 52 ± 14/3 were included. Three different picture description tasks composed of single pictures were used: The Picnic Scene from the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised, the Cookie Theft picture from the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination and the Accident Scene from the Turkish Language Assessment Test for Aphasia. All language samples were recorded using a digital voice recorder. Automated and semi-automated approaches were used for the systematic analysis of the language features that were classified into four levels: general language measures, the morphosyntactic level, the lexicosemantic level and the sentence level. Participants showed greater efficiency and produced the greatest number of subordinate clauses, derivational suffixes, passive voice suffixes and relative past tense construction during the Accident Scene description. On the lexicosemantic level, the Picnic Scene was particularly superior to the Cookie Theft Picture in eliciting nouns. Imperfective aspect use was less frequent in the Accident Scene description. All three tasks had limitations and advantages compared with each other. We recommend the development of novel picture description tasks that would be more effective in eliciting specific language features in Turkish-speaking individuals.

ORAL VERSUS WRITTEN DISCOURSE IN L1 AND L2

Language is described as a system of arbitrary symbols used by group of people for the purpose of communication. Discourse is considered as a highest ability of language. It can be elicited on tasks like picture description, narration and conversation like tasks. The output on discourse task is directly dependent on the nature of the task. The current study was carried out with the aim of comparing the output on oral and written discourse in L1 and L2. 20 neuro typical MalayalamEnglish Bilinguals were considered for the study. It was found that there was a dissociation in the pattern of performance across languages. In L1 oral discourse was better than written discourse while in L2 written discourse was equally good as oral/narrative discourse.

Tromboembolismo pulmonar em criança com Distrofia Muscular de Duchenne: relato de caso

OBJECTIVES: To describe a clinical case of pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) in a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. METHODS: A detailed description of the clinical picture and a review of the patients medical record were carried out, in addition to a discussion based on a literature review. DISCUSSION: PTE is not common in children and in 95% of cases it is secondary to an underlying cause or disease, with Duchennes disease being a predisposing condition due to the hypercoagulable state. Diagnosis in the pediatric population is not supported by tests validated as for adults; in this case, CT angiography was the exam of choice with sensitivity and specificity above 90%. In addition to diagnosis, a risk classification is essential, and supports the therapeutic choice. Therefore, low-risk patients receive anticoagulation, while high-risk patients receive thrombolytic therapy; in patients with contraindications to these drugs, surgical intervention may be necessary. Correct identification and early management are essential to delay disease progression and prevent sequelae, as well as avoid unnecessary invasive approaches. CONCLUSION: Due to the difficulty in diagnosing pulmonary thromboembolism in children, a detailed clinical investigation is essential, through the discussion of differential diagnoses and assessment of risk factors, since other diseases can mimic this clinical condition, which can present with signs and nonspecific symptoms.

Pulmonary thromboembolism in children with Duchenne Musculary Dystrophy: A Case Report

Objectives: To describe a clinical case of pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) in a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Methods: A detailed description of the clinical picture and a review of the patients medical record were carried out, in addition to a discussion based on a literature review. Discussion: PTE is not common in children and in 95% of cases it is secondary to an underlying cause or disease, with Duchennes disease being a predisposing condition due to the hypercoagulable state. Diagnosis in the pediatric population is not supported by tests validated as for adults; in this case, CT angiography was the exam of choice with sensitivity and specificity above 90%. In addition to diagnosis, a risk classification is essential, and supports the therapeutic choice. Therefore, lowrisk patients receive anticoagulation, while high-risk patients receive thrombolytic therapy; in patients with contraindications to these drugs, surgical intervention may be necessary. Correct identification and early management are essential to delay disease progression and prevent sequelae, as well as avoid unnecessary invasive approaches. Conclusion: Due to the difficulty in diagnosing pulmonary thromboembolism in children, a detailed clinical investigation is essential, through the discussion of differential diagnoses and assessment of risk factors, since other diseases can mimic this clinical condition, which can present with signs and nonspecific symptoms.

ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНАЯ МОТОРНАЯ ОБЛАСТЬ И КЛИНИЧЕСКАЯ КАРТИНА ПРИ ЕЁ ПОРАЖЕНИИ

Methods: The supplementary motor area (SMA) is a cortical region, that is located on the medial surface of the frontal lobe entirely within the interhemispheric fissure between the primary motor cortex (PMC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). This area is a heterogeneous region in its structure, as well as in its connections with other parts of the brain; on the basis of these differences, the pre-SMA and SMA-proper regions are distinguished in it. Numerous neural connections with other parts of the central nervous system (CNS) suggest the involvement of the SMA in many cognitive functions, and not only in higher motor ones, as previously was thought. In particular, in the dominant hemisphere, the SMA performs the speech function through the frontal oblique fascicle (FOF), a bundle of association fibers that connects the SMA with Broca's area. In the event of various pathologies affecting the SMA and after neurosurgical manipulations in this area, a variety of neurological disorders can occur both motor and verbal. With the damage of this cortical region in the dominant hemisphere, SMA syndrome (akinetic mutism) can occur. This paper provides a review of the anatomical, cytoarchitectonic, and functional features of the SMA, as well as a detailed description of the clinical picture of the lesion of this cortical region. Keywords: Brain, supplementary motor area, SMA syndrome.

Continuity of the lexeme gün “«sun”« in the Book of Korkyt Ata

In the article we define phonological, semantic, grammatical and pragmatic continuity in the modern Kazakh language, based on the study of the historical lexeme «gün» (sun) in the comparative historical aspect of the written monument The Book of Korkut Ata.Historical lexemes are peculiar structures in the main layer of the vocabulary of the modern Kazakh language. They perform a cumulative function from father to son, establishing the ideological features and values of the nation in the world linguistic image. In the historical process, historical lexemes created for certain reasons in certain conditions and tempered over time by consumers of the same language are comprehensively developed in the language environment and still satisfy the communicative needs of consumers. The continuity of linguistic facts of the written monument The Book of Korkut Ata with the Kazakh language is considered. The written monument The Book of Korkut Ata – originated among the Oguz-Kipchak tribes who inhabited the Cheese in the VIII-XIII centuries, fixed such historical lexemes, and spread by word of mouth to all peoples of Turkish origin. Although the correspondence of this Monument to the languages of the Oguz group is high, a small number of works studying phonological, lexico-semantic, pragmatic correspondence to the Kipchak languages indicates the relevance of this article. In general, the The Book of Korkut Ata provides information about everyday life, geographical names, customs, traditions, beliefs, and the history of the entire people. This substantial aspect of language, that is, the description of the linguistic picture of the world generated by cumulative activity, requires consideration of historical facts in accordance with the requirements of modern times. In particular, we determine the level of preservation of the token “«gün”« (sun) in the modern Kazakh language and evaluate the place of the Kazakh language in the historical dictionary. Thus, restoring the nature of the language and the Middle Turkic vocabulary, we will try to determine the specifics of the Middle age Turkic worldview.

PERAN DINAS PERINDUSTRIAN DAN PERDAGANGAN DALAM MEMBINA INDUSTRI KECIL MENENGAH (IKM) PEREKONOMIAN MASYARAKAT KABUPATEN SERDANG BEDAGAI

In general, the aim of this research is to determine the role of the Department of Industry and Trade in developing small and medium industries in the economy of the people of Serdang Bedagai Regency. As well as what the condition of SMEs there is, and also the challenges faced by the department and industry players in developing the community economy in Serdang Berdagai. This type of research is qualitative with a qualitative descriptive approach method to obtain an in-depth picture (description). Data was obtained through interviews, documentation studies and observations. The research informants consisted of five, namely: the Head of the Department of Industry and Trade, Serdang Berdagai Regency, his Secretary, Industrial Staff, and two SMEs. Data analysis techniques use data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The results of the research show that the role played by the Department of Industry and Trade is quite influential in developing the Small and Medium Industry community in Serdang Berdagai Regency. With the state of Small and Medium Industries recorded in 1985 there were industries in Serdang Berdagai Regency. There are many roles created by the Department as facilitators, regulators and catalysts, where these roles include helping SMEs to improve the community's economy. However, it is inevitable that there will be obstacles that occur, the obstacles found in the field are a lack of insight into technology, limited community personnel from the Department of Industry and Trade and limited sources of capital.

A Deep Learning Model to Generate Image Captions

How computers can automatically describe the substance of photographs using human language is a topic that interests us greatly. We choose to use the most advanced image caption generator currently available to obtain a deeper understanding of this computer vision topic. Show, attend and tell Visually attentive neural image caption generator [12]. Our machine learning-based neural network picture description generator is created in Python using the Pytorch ML framework. In our workflow, we’ve determined five key elements: Data preparation, a convolutional neural network (CNN) it helps in encoding, a recurrent neural network (RNN) it helps in decoding, a beam search to determine the best description, generation of sentences, and assessment make up the R1-R6 framework. The quality and correctness of the generated caption are evaluated using the BLEU-4 score. Each member of our group contributed equally to moving the project forward as we distributed the five elements mentioned above equally among ourselves. All five components have been completed successfully, and we can now use Kaggle Notebook to train our network. After the network has been trained and is performing satisfactorily, we continue to see the attention mechanism.

Speaking in English Language Classroom: Teachers’ Strategies and Confronting Problems

Speaking components included in the English language curriculum or textbooks aim at developing communication abilities of the students. The effective practise of dealing with those components can enhance students’ efficiency in communication. However, the existing practise of teaching speaking in public schools of Nepal, especially located in rural and low-resourced areas does not seem supportive for developing students’ efficiency in communication abilities. In this connection, the present article aims to figure out the practise of teaching speaking in rural and low-resourced schools, use of the strategies in dealing with speaking components and the problems faced by the teachers. It has been developed out of the insights collected through case study research. The required information was accumulated through classroom observation. During the observation, it has been found that speaking component in the class was dealt with the practise of whole class discussion, pair work, group work, individual work, picture description, loud reading and repetition drills, telling stories, oral games, problem-solving, and sharing experiences. The teacher faced the problems of student-student chatting in their mother language while engaging in group discussion, low participation, hesitation and unwillingness to in taking part in the interaction, lack of enough and effective materials, difficulty to comprehend ideas expressed in English, and lack of the exposure in speaking in English. The findings make a call for innovative and technologically enhanced activities for the practise of speaking. The study concludes that participate reaction research is required for exploring the ways to address the problems in developing speaking efficiency.