Voice Option Research Articles

Nonbinary Voices for Digital Assistants—An Investigation of User Perceptions and Gender Stereotypes

Due to the wide adoption of digital voice assistants (DVAs), interactions with technology have also changed our perceptions, highlighting and reinforcing (mostly) negative gender stereotypes. Regarding the ongoing advancements in the field of human–machine interaction, a developed and improved understanding of and awareness of the reciprocity of gender and DVA technology use is thus crucial. Our work in this field expands prior research by including a nonbinary voice option as a means to eschew gender stereotypes. We used a between-subject quasi-experimental questionnaire study (female voice vs. male voice vs. nonbinary voice), in which n=318 participants provided feedback on gender stereotypes connected to voice perceptions and personality traits. Our findings show that the overall gender perception of our nonbinary voice leaned towards male on the gender spectrum, whereas the female-gendered and male-gendered voices were clearly identified as such. Furthermore, we found that feminine attributes were clearly tied to our female-gendered voice, whereas the connection of masculine attributes to the male voice was less pronounced. Most notably, however, we did not find gender-stereotypical trait attributions with our nonbinary voice. Results also show that the likability of our female-gendered and nonbinary voices was lower than it was with our male-gendered voice, and that, particularly with the nonbinary voice, this likability was affected by people’s personality traits. Thus, overall, our findings contribute (1) additional theoretical grounding for gender-studies in human–machine interaction, and (2) insights concerning peoples’ perceptions of nonbinary voices, providing additional guidance for researchers, technology designers, and DVA providers.

Optimal Guard Channel Reservation and its Comparison with Fractional Channel Policies in Mobile Cellular Network

In the current communication era, 2G voice services coexist with higher generation mobile network voice services like Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) in 4G and Voice over New Radio (VoNR) in 5G. Subscribers registered in the 5G network, but their voice option is in 4G so voice calls can be handled through the Evolved Packet System (EPS) Fallback or Radio access technology (RAT) Fallback. Similarly, subscribers register in a 4G network, but their voice option is in 3G or 2G so voice calls can be handled through Circuit Switched Fallback (CSFB). To provide uninterrupted voice service in such wireless networks usually handoff calls (HCs) receive higher priority than new calls (NCs). So, some guard radio resources (i.e., channels in 2G or RBs in 4G or 5G) may be reserved in each cell to handle this type of HCs. If more channels are reserved for HCs, then the handoff call-dropping probability (HCDP) will be decreased and at that time the new call-blocking probability (NCBP) will be increased. So, by considering the target HCDP if channels are reserved for HC, then HCDP will remain below the target and NCBP will be minimum. In this paper first, we proposed an optimal channel reservation (OCR) policy that reserves guard channels according to the given target HCDP. Second, we compared our OCR policy with fractional channel (FC), limited fractional channel (LFC), and uniform fractional channel (UFC) policies. Finally, we observed the performance of all these policies considering the Global System for the Mobile Communication (GSM) network.

Does perceived inequality promote abstention and protest voting? A study of the 2022 Italian general election

ABSTRACT We focus on the role of perceived economic inequality as a possible antecedent of abstention and protest voting in the 2022 Italian general election. In particular, we hypothesize that citizens’ perceived economic inequality (and the perception that it will grow), reinforced by the negative emotions the perception trigger, may undermine citizens’ trust in institutions. We also investigate whether the erosion of trust is associated with abstention (as an exit option) and protest voting, operationalized as voting for Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), i.e. the only party that did not support the Draghi government (as a voting voice option). We analysed data from the two waves of an online election survey conducted by ITANES (the Italian National Election Study) on a quota sample of the Italian adult population and tested a moderated – mediated model aimed at predicting the association between perceived inequality when eliciting negative emotions, and the probability of voting for FdI or not casting a valid vote. The mediating variable was institutional distrust and the moderating variable was (lack of) political interest. The analyses confirmed that perceived economic inequality does play a role in promoting abstention and protest voting.

Coping With Unreliable Water Supply: An Experimental Study of Exit and Voice

AbstractUnreliable public water supplies cause human hardships and are still common worldwide. Households often deal with the issue by adopting various coping strategies that are representative of economic decentralization (e.g., using private wells, sourcing from third‐party vendors) and political decentralization (e.g., making petitions to a public provider). There is growing interest in these user‐level decentralized coping strategies, but their relative effects on provider's behavior and the long‐term sustainability of public water supply remain unclear. This puzzle has not been tackled using an experimental approach. This study reports a controlled behavioral experiment conducted to test the relative effectiveness of different coping strategies on infrastructure quality and users‐provider cooperation in the context of agricultural water supply. We tested experimental treatments involving two classes of coping strategies: exit and voice. The exit option represents users' shift to an alternative water source. The voice option represents users' direct effort to influence a public irrigation service provider. We recruited 272 human subjects into our 4‐player experiment (one provider and three users) and observed and compared their decisions under four treatments (exit, voice, their combination, and no options). The results show that the voice option leads to improved outcomes compared to other choices that include the exit option, suggesting that contrary to previously thought, the exit option can be detrimental to users‐provider cooperation. We also observed that a user tends to cooperate more (pay and use the public service) when other users do the same.

Exploring the Voices of the Rif Hirak activism: The struggle for democracy in Morocco

ABSTRACT This article explores how the Rif Hirak activists perceive the legitimacy of the demands that were made vocal in the northern Rif of Morocco following the tragic death of a fishmonger in 2016. Given the lack of empirical studies, this article aims at stimulating more in-depth research into this neglected territory of knowledge. Accordingly, our major aim is to look at how these activists (i) perceive the emergence of the Rif Hirak Movement (ii) the basis on which they perceive the legitimacy of their demands and (iii) last how State’s approach towards these demands impacted youth emigration. To achieve this purpose, 15 activists were interviewed. The findings reported here strongly indicated the activists’ determination to the Voice option, mainly because of its legitimate basis. On the basis of this knowledge, the data gathered will be analyzed within the Voice, loyalty, and exit (EVL) framework.

How do resource mobility and group size affect institutional arrangements for rule enforcement? A qualitative comparative analysis of fishing groups in South Korea

Two social feedbacks critical for redressing decline in organizational performance are exit (changing membership to a better performing organization) and voice (members' expression of discontent). In self-governing organizations of common-pool resources (CPRs) experiencing decline from poor rule conformance, the exit option is often unavailable due to a closed membership policy. Thus, members should rely on the voice option to reverse the trend. However, it is poorly understood under what set of conditions members can successfully use the voice option to govern their CPRs. We analyzed 30 self-governing fishing groups in South Korea to generate configurations of institutional and social-ecological conditions linked to the successful voice option. We considered Ostrom's Design Principles for rule enforcement as institutional conditions and resource mobility and group size as social-ecological factors affecting institutional fit. We find that if the informal mechanism for conflict resolution is absent, fishing groups will be unsuccessful; even if rules for monitoring and graduated sanctions are not in use, groups can be successful when they harvest only stationary resources and the informal conflict-resolution is present; and groups managing mobile resources need graduated sanctions to be successful, while those appropriating only stationary resources can achieve the same outcome without such sanctions.

Worker Voice in America: Is There a Gap between What Workers Expect and What They Experience?

This article is the fifth in a series to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ILR Review. The series features articles that analyze the state of research and future directions for important themes this journal has featured over many years of publication. The decline in unionization experienced in the United States over the past 40 years raises a question of fundamental importance to workers, society, and the field of industrial relations: Have workers lost interest in having a voice at work, or is there a gap between workers’ expectations for a voice and what they actually experience? And if a “voice gap” exists, what options are available to workers to close that gap? The authors draw on a nationally representative survey of workers that both updates previous surveys conducted in 1977 and 1995 and goes beyond the scope of these previous efforts to consider a wider array of workplace issues and voice options. Results indicate that workers believe they should have a voice on a broad set of workplace issues, but substantial gaps exist between their expected and their actual level of voice at work. Nearly 50% of non-union workers say they would vote for a union, compared to approximately one-third in the two prior national surveys, which points to continued interest in unions as a voice mechanism. Additionally, the authors find significant variation in the rates of use of different voice options and workers’ satisfaction with those options. The results suggest that a sizable voice gap exists in American workplaces today, but at the same time, no one voice option fits all workers or all issues.

The issue of enforcement in Chinese corporate governance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss two important aspects of enforcement of ethical standards: indirect enforcement, that is the Confucian approach, and common law enforcement. In the context of Confucianism, one must adopt the ethical teachings in a moderate or “middle” way. We should not be too attached to the liberal interpretation of the Confucian texts but must have the wisdom to apply the concepts case-by-case. The issue then is if there are no legal consequences or punishment, then how we can ensure that someone will continue to comply with the standards. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze the Confucian texts in relation to the enforcement of the ethical standards. The authors investigate the Entity Maximization and Sustainability Model by referring to the exit option, the voice option, the influence exerted on the board of directors, the sending of the Confucian representatives to sit on the board of directors, the oppression remedy and statutory derivative actions. The authors adopt a comparative study approach and argue that the Confucian enforcement of ethics can fill in the gap where common law rules of procedure cannot reach in the context of Chinese corporate governance system. Findings – By referring to the Confucian teaching, there are several ways to encourage the superior to follow the ethical standards, namely, education, fear of punishment by society, peer pressure, intrinsic value, continuing education and codification of Confucian value/moral standards. In addition, there are several enforcement options based on the Entity Maximization and Sustainability Model, which is highly relevant to the enforcement model of Confucianism. Originality/value – It is the first of its kind in strengthening the enforcement of Chinese business ethics by adopting the Confucian approach and common law approach. The two are not mutually exclusive but complementary with each other to bring the enforcement of Chinese business ethics to the next level.

Where Do Distrusting Voters Turn if There is No Viable Exit or Voice Option? The Impact of Political Trust on Electoral Behaviour in the Belgian Regional Elections of June 2009

AbstractIt has been suggested that political distrust is associated with lower levels of voter turnout and increased votes for challenger or populist parties. We investigate the relationship between political (dis)trust and electoral behaviour using the 2009 Belgian Election Study. Belgium presents an interesting case because compulsory voting (with an accompanying turnout rate of 90.4 per cent) compels distrusting voters to participate in elections. Nevertheless, distrusting voters are significantly more inclined to cast a blank or invalid vote. Second, distrust is positively associated with a preference for extreme right (Vlaams Belang) and populist (Lijst Dedecker) parties. Third, in party systems where there is no supply of viable challengers (i.e. the French-speaking region of Belgium), the effect of political trust on party preference is limited. We conclude that electoral effects of political distrust are determined by the electoral and party system and the supply of electoral protest.

This Side of the Mountain

This Side of the Mountain George Brosi Recently, my wife, Connie, and I heard about some much-improved gps navigation systems for our car that offered many different voices. Imagine our delight when we purchased a new navigation system and learned that it had an authentic Southern Appalachian voice option. At first we loved it. When there was a river alongside the road, the little map on the device would annotate the fishing holes—"fish here are hatchery-spawned trout, use Stokely's canned corn for bait." The voice—we called her Inez—would remind us to pull off and stop the car out of respect for the dead when a funeral procession passed. When we drove past Sam's Garage, she even told us that if we'd come back Friday night from 7-11 we'd hear some fabulous old-time music. When we passed a big tent, she suggested we return Wednesday night for the revival and hymn singing. She stopped short of telling me that I needed to get right with God. When Connie punched in the address of our friend Angela Jordan, Inez asked, "Who's her daddy?" in order to get her bearings. It was kind of disconcerting the other day when Inez directed us into the Walmart parking lot of a small town, but she said, "I won't be but a minute. I just need to get some stuff for the trip." Actually, before I could get too upset about that time we lost, she saved us much more. There was a construction delay, and Inez opined, "Better turn around and take a different route. Here in Cletis County they ain't gonna let you through until after they eat their dinner." But then we lost a little more time when her voice spoke up: "Oops, I'm so sorry I missed that turn back about ten miles. I was looking for Billy Bob's barn, but it must have blowed down in that last storm." But we probably made up the time when she warned us of the speed trap in the next town. Inez said that the last car she was guiding through, she didn't warn. Said they were driving a Cadillac, and she figured the locals needed the money worse than they did. Going between Wytheville and Tazewell, she directed us on a route with lots of curves, and even several switchbacks, but Burke's Garden was lovely. Grassy Cove was pretty nice going between Vonore and Crossville, but I do think we lost a little time. And from Norton to Whitesburg, she did direct us on some pretty rough roads, but the hike to Bad Branch Falls was worth it. Traveling on i-68, she'd always warn us that the Maryland Highway Patrol was way different from the nice West Virginia gentlemen. [End Page 8] "Pass that truck now," Inez would holler, "not another chance 'til you get plum over Clinch Mountain." Because of her advice, we filled up the gas tank in Corbin, Kentucky, where it was cheap, but made sure we had plenty before we got to Lexington, Virginia. We wouldn't have wanted to miss the Highland County Fair even though it wasn't on the most direct route from Roanoke to Charleston. "The rain is picking up mighty fierce; it'll likely come a tide," she warned in a rainstorm below a strip mine, so she directed us to higher ground. She knew when football games between rival schools were over and made sure we avoided the congestion. She pointed out old apple trees along the road, and the persimmon tree on the Sand Mountain side of the Stevenson Bridge. She even knew to wait until after a frost to harvest those persimmons. Since we got Inez, we started to carry a berry bucket in the car with us. "They's a cow got out of Charlie's pasture up ahead, slow down," she'd say. And one of the best things was she'd tell us if there was ice on Newfound Gap or on the side of Black Mountain. I really hated to say goodbye to Inez and switch back...

Attitudes of Children Towards Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of voice output, as a characteristic of a child's AAC system, on the attitude of unfamiliar peers. The need to develop a suitable tool to measure the attitudes of peers led to the development of the Communication Aid/Device Attitudinal Questionnaire (CADAQ). A descriptive survey design was used and the suitability of the CADAQ was tested in a pilot study. One hundred and fifteen participants, aged 11-13 years, viewed a videotape of a 13-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, communicating with the use of an AAC device. Attitudes were measured according to three dimensions: affective/behavioural, cognitive/belief and communication competence. Data were analysed with a 2 (group) x 2 (gender) x 3 (dimension) analysis of variance (ANOVA) with infinity = .05. An item analysis, Cronbach Alpha's and scale intercorrelations between the 3 dimensions of the CADAQ were computed to determine the internal consistency of the CADAQ. Results reflected more favourable attitudes to the presence of voice output in comparison to the no voice option. Girls held more positive attitudes to the peer with disabilities and little or no functional speech (LNFS). Good internal consistency of the CADAQ was demonstrated.

The Medio-Active Construction in Nyulnyulan Languages

Most Nyulnyulan languages (non-Pama-Nyungan, Western Australia), show an unusual clause type, the medio-active, with the case-frame of a transitive clause, but the verbal agreement of an intransitive clause; there is no formal registration in the verb. This paper provides a detailed description of the structural and semantic properties of this clause type in each language that exhibits it, identifying shared features and differences. Evidence is presented that it represents a distinct construction, of intermediate transitivity, and a grammatical analysis is proposed in terms of roles. The medio-active shows, however, few characteristics prototypical of the passive, and is not a voice option.

Models for Female Loyalty: The Biblical Ruth in Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Literary models of development, from simple fairy tales such as Snow White to complex bildungsromans such as Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, generally posit physical and/or emotional separation from home and family as a necessary step in the process of maturation. For conventional stories of male development (the paradigmatic Bildungsroman as established by Goethe), such models play out the dynamics of the oedipal phase; the male infant recognizes physiological differences be? tween himself and a female primary caregiver and learns to define his gender and identity in terms of that opposition. Leaving home simply re? peats this process for the adolescent. However, as psychologists from Sig? mund Freud to Carol Gilligan have been telling us, the process is not so simple for the female child. Not only does the female infant experience less physiological difference, but connection to home and family generally remain much more important to the girl during and after adolescence. In an effort to stay connected to their families, adolescent girls frequently resort to what Gilligan terms the voice option, meaning that, instead of leaving, they speak out to express their dissatisfaction with the family while still preserving the relationship.1 In other words, girls narrate their concerns precisely so that those concerns will not destroy the familial relationship. Traditional stories of maturation, with their emphasis on an exit solu? tion, cannot speak to the need for connection within female development, nor can they provide a literary model for its occurrence in fiction. Yet. as critics often warn, many alternative models for female development in? stead advocate passivity and patience, encouraging Sleeping Beauty or Rapunzel merely to await her rescuing prince and thus not to seek agency or maturity on her own.2 More significantly, such models often posit the relationship between women?particularly mother and daughter?as one of competition, not companionship. While obviously such paradigms are

Japanese Politics in Transition: A Theoretical Review

THE END OF ONE-PARTY DOMINANCE BY THE LIBERAL Democratic Party of Japan came as abruptly as the fall of the Berlin wall four years before. It started with the debate on electoral system change, ostensibly as an attempt to curb corruption. The LDP has been plagued by a series of large-scale corruption scandals since the Recruit scandal of 1989. The latest concerned former vice-president Shin Kanemaru's alleged violation of the political money regulation law and the income tax law in 1992–93. The Prime Minister, Kiichi Miyazawa, accepting a fair degree of compromise with opposition parties, wanted to pass a bill to change the current electoral system. The LDP initially wanted to change from the system of choosing a few persons in each district by one vote to the Anglo-American type system of selecting one person in each district by one vote. The opposition wanted to change to the continental European system of proportional representation. A compromise was made by the LDP's proposal to combine the latter two systems. Then two dissenting groups emerged suddenly in the LDP. One took the exit option by forming new political parties. The other took the voice option by backing away from the Miyazawa compromise plan. Miyazawa was humiliated by his failure to have the bill enacted and a motion of no confidence was passed. He then called for a general election, which took place on 18 July 1993. The outcome did not give a majority to the LDP and subsequently a non-LDP coalition was formed to produce a non-LDP government for the first time since the foundation of the LDP in 1955

Intergovernmental competition, voice and exit options and the design of fiscal structure

Taxpayers may reveal their assessment of policy through exercise of available voice and exit options within the fiscal constitution. The voice option is utilized when taxpayers remain within political boundaries and attempt to communicate their assessments regarding the institutionalstatus quo to policymakers. Exercise of the exit option occurs when taxpayers signal discontent with thestatus quo by purchasing from another government supplier. This paper discusses and contrasts theconventional andconstitutional economics views toward fiscal design and argues that a major difference exists regarding the issue of who should be awarded primary responsibility in the policy process: taxpayers or policymakers? Because voice and exit options determine the relative leverage of taxpayers and policymakers in the policy process, it is argued that the design of voice and exit options in the fiscal constitution exerts a predictable influence on policy. The paper concludes that one's view toward the design of voice and exit options is affected by one's perception of the appropriate size of government. Competitive fiscal structures tend to be advocated by those who believe that government tends to overexpand and monopolistic structures tend to be advocated by those who believe that government tends to be too small.

The Exit vs. Voice Option: Six Cases of Swedish Participation in International Organizations

Stålvant, C.-E. The Exit vs. Voice Option: Six Cases of Swedish Participation in Inter national Organizations. Cooperation and Conflict, XI, 1976, 41-56. Hirschman's well-known dual categories of reaction mechanisms, exit and voice, are challenging and problematic in many ways. In politics one must assume that the exit decision is subordinated to that of voice. It corresponds to the rephrased question: at what point is one more efficient in fighting mistaken policies from without than from within ? However, exit is in itself a twofold phenomenon: exit into and exit from. The choice problem that arises when a new international organization is created, or when an existing one deteriorates, must take into account the weighing of costs and payoffs associated with a decision to enter or to withdraw, or whether not to enter or not to withdraw. The arguments raised in six different situations of Swedish participation in international organizations are elucidated with the help of three patterns of responses: entry, no-forward entry and no-backward entry. The junctures chosen are the UN, the Council of Europe, the OECD, the EEC, the IEA and the IBRD. Overriding principles of funtional content and geographical extension that seem to influence Swedish thinking on such occasions are identified. Carl-Einar Stålvant, Department of Political Science, University of Stockholm.