Do Prosody and Embodiment Influence the Perceived Naturalness of Conversational Agents’ Speech?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Jonathan Ehret ◽  
Andrea Bönsch ◽  
Lukas Aspöck ◽  
Christine T. Röhr ◽  
Stefan Baumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Masking Effect ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Virtual Agents ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Virtual Agent ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

For conversational agents’ speech, either all possible sentences have to be prerecorded by voice actors or the required utterances can be synthesized. While synthesizing speech is more flexible and economic in production, it also potentially reduces the perceived naturalness of the agents among others due to mistakes at various linguistic levels. In our article, we are interested in the impact of adequate and inadequate prosody, here particularly in terms of accent placement, on the perceived naturalness and aliveness of the agents. We compare (1) inadequate prosody, as generated by off-the-shelf text-to-speech (TTS) engines with synthetic output; (2) the same inadequate prosody imitated by trained human speakers; and (3) adequate prosody produced by those speakers. The speech was presented either as audio-only or by embodied, anthropomorphic agents, to investigate the potential masking effect by a simultaneous visual representation of those virtual agents. To this end, we conducted an online study with 40 participants listening to four different dialogues each presented in the three Speech levels and the two Embodiment levels. Results confirmed that adequate prosody in human speech is perceived as more natural (and the agents are perceived as more alive) than inadequate prosody in both human (2) and synthetic speech (1). Thus, it is not sufficient to just use a human voice for an agents’ speech to be perceived as natural—it is decisive whether the prosodic realisation is adequate or not. Furthermore, and surprisingly, we found no masking effect by speaker embodiment, since neither a human voice with inadequate prosody nor a synthetic voice was judged as more natural, when a virtual agent was visible compared to the audio-only condition. On the contrary, the human voice was even judged as less “alive” when accompanied by a virtual agent. In sum, our results emphasize, on the one hand, the importance of adequate prosody for perceived naturalness, especially in terms of accents being placed on important words in the phrase, while showing, on the other hand, that the embodiment of virtual agents plays a minor role in the naturalness ratings of voices.

Social Class and Cultural Consumption: The Impact of Modernisation in a Comparative European Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Gerhards ◽  
Silke Hans ◽  
Michael Mutz
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Cultural Consumption ◽  
Class Membership ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Pierre Bourdieu’s work has argued that there is a homology of social classes on the one hand and cultural consumption on the other. In contrast, theories of individualisation posit that social class plays only a minor role in shaping lifestyle in contemporary societies. In this paper we examine a) how much contemporary highbrow lifestyles in 27 European countries are structured by class membership, b) the extent to which highbrow consumption varies according to the level of modernisation of a society and c) whether the explanatory power of social class in relation to highbrow consumption decreases in more modernised European countries. The findings show that highbrow lifestyles are strongly influenced by social class, and that highbrow consumption is more common in more modernised societies. Moreover, the findings confirm the hypothesis that the formative power of social class on lifestyle decreases in highly modernised societies, albeit without disappearing completely.

Use of Different Tissue Thromboplastins in the Control of Anticoagulant-Therapy

1958 ◽  
Vol 02 (05/06) ◽  
pp. 462-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Verstraete ◽  
Patricia A. Clark ◽  
Irving S. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Prothrombin Time ◽  
Anticoagulant Therapy ◽  
Factor Vii ◽  
Rabbit Brain ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Rabbit Lung ◽  
Coagulation Mechanism ◽  
Time Test ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor

SummaryAn analysis of the results of prothrombin time tests with different types of thromboplastins sheds some light on the problem why the administration of coumarin is difficult to standardize in different centers. Our present ideas on the subject, based on experimental data may be summarized as follows.Several factors of the clotting mechanism are influenced by coumarin derivatives. The action of some of these factors is by-passed in the 1-stage prothrombin time test. The decrease of the prothrombin and factor VII levels may be evaluated in the 1-stage prothrombin time determination (Quick-test). The prolongation of the prothrombin times are, however, predominantly due to the decrease of factor VII activity, the prothrombin content remaining around 50 per cent of normal during an adequate anticoagulant therapy. It is unlikely that this degree of depression of prothrombin is of major significance in interfering with the coagulation mechanism in the protection against thromboembolism. It may, however, play a minor role, which has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. An exact evaluation of factor VII is, therefore, important for the guidance of anticoagulant therapy and the method of choice is the one which is most sensitive to changes in factor VII concentration. The 1-stage prothrombin time test with a rabbit lung thromboplastin seems the most suitable method because rabbit brain preparations exhibit a factor VII-like activity that is not present in rabbit lung preparations.

Politeness and social utopia in Friedrich Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christel Björkstrand
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Politeness Theory ◽  
Dramatic Structure ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Social Visions ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Social Utopia

This paper is an interdisciplinary analysis of Friedrich Schiller’s play Wilhelm Tell (1804). An initial study of its dramatic structure suggests a change in the relationship between the Swiss peasants and nobles. A further analysis, based on Brown’s and Levinson’s politeness theory confirms the development of a social utopia in the play, but also reveals that Wilhelm Tell plays a minor role in the social development described. The comparison of the play with earlier versions of the Tell legend highlights the roles of peasants and nobles in the establishment of the Swiss Confederation and suggests that Schiller elaborated extensively on the idea of a ‘common ground’ among the Swiss from different classes. The comparison between Schiller’s play and the contemporary German philosopher Johann Benjamin Erhard’s essay Über das Recht des Volks zu einer Revolution illustrates that Schiller’s social utopia develops in accordance with contemporary social visions. However, Tell’s act of murder separates him from the other Swiss protagonists in Schiller’s attempt to outline a righteous revolution, different from the one in France.

The Victim – a Great Actor in a Minor Role? – A Comparative Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-128
Author(s):  
Łukasz Duśko ◽  
Mateusz Szurman
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
American English ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor ◽  
To Receive

Recently, the role of the victim in criminal proceedings became more significant. An observation was made that the legal interests of the victim are much more severely affected by the crime than the collective legal interests in the form of public or social order. However, the differences in the rights the victim is vested with differ substantively between particular countries. The authors present the position of the victim in American, English and French law. The solutions provided for in these systems are confronted with legal regulations adopted in Poland, i.e. the home country of the authors. It shows, surprisingly, that the role of the victim in criminal proceedings has evolved somehow independently of the implementation of the concept of restitution. On the one hand, there are legal systems in which the criminal court may order the offender to pay compensation for the damage caused, but the role of the victim still remains marginal. On the other hand, there are systems in which the victim is not only entitled to receive restitution, but he or she also has significant powers which enable him or her to play an active role in the criminal proceedings.

The Weights of Individual Grains of the Wheat Ear in Relation to Their Growth Potential, the Supply of Assimilate and Interaction Between Grains

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
PM Bremner ◽  
HM Rawson
Keyword(s):  
Vascular System ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Assimilate Transport ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Intrinsic Capacity ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
Individual Grains ◽  
A Minor

The work reported here was done to explore the extent to which the mature weight of a grain is determined by (i) its potential for growth, defined as its intrinsic capacity to accumulate dry matter, and (ii) the resistance to assimilate transport imposed by the vascular system of the ear. Estimation of growth potential was attempted by observing the effects of systematic patterns of grain removal on the mature weights of grains remaining, these being compared with weights of matched grains from intact ears. Resistance to transport of assimilate was inferred from the apparent order of priority between grains for the supply of assimilate, as revealed by comparing their weights when assimilate supply was either normal, or reduced by plant shading. When neighbouring grains were removed, those remaining usually grew larger to an extent that indicated growth potential appreciably in excess of that utilized in intact ears under the most favourable conditions. Although grains within a spikelet of an intact ear attain quite different weights, the experiments suggested that their differing potentials for growth seemed to play only a minor role in this, and that the major influence was the relative ease with which assimilate could reach the grains; this depended largely on the distance of the grains from the spike rachis. Comparing between spikelets, the difference found in intact ears between grains in the same spikelet location tended to persist when some grains were removed from each spikelet, indicating a possible role of growth potential as a controlling influence. This may be partly due to the sequence of morphogenesis, established as early as the double ridge stage. Although the removal of competing grains within a spikelet usually enhanced the growth of the one remaining, this was not always so; there was evidence from one experiment that removal of competing grains towards the spikelet apex represented the removal of some beneficial influence. The bearing of the results on possible limitations to grain yield are discussed.

Effects of different hydraulic models on predicting longitudinal profiles of reactive pollutants in activated sludge reactors

2008 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Zima ◽  
J. Makinia ◽  
M. Swinarski ◽  
K. Czerwionka
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Ammonia Concentration ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Nitrification Rate ◽  
Concentration Profiles ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Advection Dispersion ◽  
In Series ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor

This paper presents effects of dispersion on predicting longitudinal ammonia concentration profiles in activated sludge bioreactor located at “Wschod” WWTP in Gdansk. The aim of this study was to use the one-dimensional advection-dispersion Equation (ADE) to simulate the flow conditions (based on the inert tracer concentrations in selected points) and longitudinal profile of reactive pollutant (based on the ammonia concentration profiles in selected points). The simulation results were compared with the predictions obtained using a traditional “tanks-in-series” (TIS) approach, commonly used in designing biological reactors. The use of dispersion coefficient calculated from an empirical formula resulted in substantial differences in the tracer concentration distributions in two sampling points in the bioreactor. Simulations using the one-dimensional ADE and TIS model, with the nitrification rate incorporated as the source term, revealed that the hydraulic model plays a minor role compared to the biochemical transformations in predicting the longitudinal ammonia concentration profiles.

Industrial dimensions of food allergy

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 941-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Crevel
Keyword(s):  
Food Allergy ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
The Other ◽  
Allergic Reactions ◽  
Atopic Diseases ◽  
Novel Proteins ◽  
Safety Assurance ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

Serious attempts to estimate the impact of allergic reactions to foods on public health did not begin until the 1980s. Until about 15 years ago, food allergy was considered a minor aspect of food safety. Two developments probably prompted a radical re-appraisal of that situation. The first was the apparently inexorable rise in the prevalence of atopic diseases, of which food allergy forms a part, with its possible consequences highlighted by some well publicised severe reactions. The second was the growth of genetic modification technology, manifested by the commercialization of transgenic crops. Each of these developments impacted on the food industry in distinct ways. On the one hand, food-allergic consumers had to be enabled to avoid specific allergens in products formulated with existing ingredients. Food manufacturers therefore had to identify those specific allergens down to trace amounts in all the ingredients forming the product, and label or remove them. On the other hand, the introduction of products using ingredients from novel sources required an assessment of the allergenicity of these ingredients as an integral part of safety assurance. The approaches used by the food industry to protect existing allergic consumers and those at potential risk of sensitization by novel proteins will be illustrated, emphasizing how they need to be built into every stage of the life cycle of a product.

Heteroepitaxy on (001) Silicon: Growth Mechanisms and Defect Formation.

1988 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pirouz ◽  
F. Ernst ◽  
T. T. Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Defect Formation ◽  
Lattice Mismatch ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
Growth Mechanisms ◽  
Planar Defects ◽  
Step Process ◽  
One Step ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor

AbstractIn the growth of thin films of compound semiconductors on (001) silicon substrates by vapor deposition techniques, it is usual to employ a two-step process. In this method, an initial (buffer) layer is first grown at a relatively low temperature; once a continuous film has formed on the substrate, its temperature is raised for the subsequent bulk growth. Carrying out the growth in a one-step process by heating the substrate to the final temperature before allowing the gases into the CVD reactor usually results in a polycrystalline aggregate. In this paper, classical nucleation and growth mechanisms are used to explain-the reasons for the different morphology of the one-step and two-step growth films.The heteroepitaxial films on (001) silicon often contain a high density of stacking faults and twins. The occurrence of these planar defects is usually attributed to stresses that arise from lattice mismatch and/or thermal mismatch (differences in coefficients of thermal expansion) between the substrate and the epilayer. It is argued that, in fact, mismatch stresses play a minor role in the generation of planar defects. Instead, an alternative mechanism for their formation is proposed which is based on the facetted shape of nuclei and errors in stacking of {111} planes which occur during deposition on the facets.Conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy have been used to investigate three systems grown by CVD or MOCVD: SiC/Si, GaAs/Si and GaP/Si. These systems have different lattice and thermal mismatches, and the results support the proposed model for the formation of defects.

scholarly journals Extracellular Pneumococcal Serine Proteases Affect Nasopharyngeal Colonization

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murtadha Q. Ali ◽  
Thomas P. Kohler ◽  
Gerhard Burchhardt ◽  
Andreas Wüst ◽  
Nadin Henck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serine Proteases ◽  
Bacterial Load ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Extracellular Proteases ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Colonization ◽  
Invasive Diseases ◽  
Pneumococcal Colonization ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

Streptococcus pneumoniae has evolved versatile strategies to colonize the nasopharynx of humans. Colonization is facilitated by direct interactions with host cell receptors or via binding to components of the extracellular matrix. In addition, pneumococci hijack host-derived extracellular proteases such as the serine protease plasmin(ogen) for ECM and mucus degradation as well as colonization. S. pneumoniae expresses strain-dependent up to four serine proteases. In this study, we assessed the role of secreted or cell-bound serine proteases HtrA, PrtA, SFP, and CbpG, in adherence assays and in a mouse colonization model. We hypothesized that the redundancy of serine proteases compensates for the deficiency of a single enzyme. Therefore, double and triple mutants were generated in serotype 19F strain EF3030 and serotype 4 strain TIGR4. Strain EF3030 produces only three serine proteases and lacks the SFP encoding gene. In adherence studies using Detroit-562 epithelial cells, we demonstrated that both TIGR4Δcps and 19F mutants without serine proteases or expressing only CbpG, HtrA, or PrtA have a reduced ability to adhere to Detroit-562 cells. Consistent with these results, we show that the mutants of strain 19F, which preferentially colonizes mice, abrogate nasopharyngeal colonization in CD-1 mice after intranasal infection. The bacterial load in the nasopharynx was monitored for 14 days. Importantly, mutants showed significantly lower bacterial numbers in the nasopharynx two days after infection. Similarly, we detected a significantly reduced pneumococcal colonization on days 3, 7, and 14 post-inoculations. To assess the impact of pneumococcal serine proteases on acute infection, we infected mice intranasally with bioluminescent and invasive TIGR4 or isogenic triple mutants expressing only CbpG, HtrA, PrtA, or SFP. We imaged the acute lung infection in real-time and determined the survival of the mice. The TIGR4lux mutant expressing only PrtA showed a significant attenuation and was less virulent in the acute pneumonia model. In conclusion, our results showed that pneumococcal serine proteases contributed significantly to pneumococcal colonization but played only a minor role in pneumonia and invasive diseases. Because colonization is a prerequisite for invasive diseases and transmission, these enzymes could be promising candidates for the development of antimicrobials to reduce pneumococcal transmission.

scholarly journals Low incidence of Schmallenberg virus infection in natural cases of abortion in domestic ruminants in Hungary

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-111
Author(s):  
Levente Szeredi ◽  
Ádám Dán ◽  
Péter Malik ◽  
Szilárd Jánosi ◽  
Ákos Hornyák
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Sample ◽  
Schmallenberg Virus ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Domestic Ruminants ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Low Incidence ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAn epizootic caused by a new orthobunyavirus called Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was recognised in European ruminants in 2011 and 2012. The re-emergence of the infection was reported in several countries in the subsequent years. Although the main clinical sign of SBV infection is abortion, the impact of SBV in natural cases of abortion in domestic ruminants had not been systematically examined before this study. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of SBV infection and to compare it to the importance of other causes of abortion by examining 537 natural cases of abortion that had occurred between 2011 and 2017 in Hungary. The cause of abortion was determined in 165 (31%) cases. An infectious cause was proved in 88 (16%) cases. SBV infection was found only in a total of four cases (0.8%) using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Three of them proved to be inapparent SBV infection, and one case was attributed to SBV-induced abortion by detecting non-purulent encephalitis and SBV nucleoprotein by immunohistochemistry in a brain tissue sample. According to the results, SBV played a minor role in natural cases of domestic ruminant abortion in Hungary during the 7-year period following the first SBV outbreak in 2011.

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