Can audio-visual speech recognition outperform acoustically enhanced speech recognition in automotive environment?

The use of visual features in the form of lip movements to improve the performance of acoustic speech recognition has been shown to work well, particularly in noisy acoustic conditions. However, whether this technique can outperform speech recognition incorporating well-known acoustic enhancement techniques, such as spectral subtraction, or multi-channel beamforming is not known. This is an important question to be answered especially in an automotive environment, for the design of an efficient human-vehicle computer interface. We perform a variety of speech recognition experiments on a challenging automotive speech dataset and results show that synchronous HMM-based audio-visual fusion can outperform traditional single as well as multi-channel acoustic speech enhancement techniques. We also show that further improvement in recognition performance can be obtained by fusing speech-enhanced audio with the visual modality, demonstrating the complementary nature of the two robust speech recognition approaches.

How can a mentor’s personal attributes and pedagogical knowledge develop a preservice teacher’s behaviour management?

This study presents the importance of a mentor’s (experienced teacher’s) personal attributes and pedagogical knowledge for developing a mentee’s (preservice teacher’s) teaching practices. Specifically, preservice teachers can have difficulties with behaviour management and must learn management strategies that help them to teach more effectively. This paper investigates how mentoring may facilitate the development of a mentee’s behaviour management strategies, in particular what personal attributes and pedagogical knowledge are used in this process.

Sit versus stand : can sitting be accurately identified using MTI accelerometer data?

High levels of sitting have been linked with poor health outcomes. Previously a pragmatic MTI accelerometer data cut-point (100 count/min-1) has been used to estimate sitting. Data on the accuracy of this cut-point is unavailable. PURPOSE: To ascertain whether the 100 count/min-1 cut-point accurately isolates sitting from standing activities. METHODS: Participants fitted with an MTI accelerometer were observed performing a range of sitting, standing, light & moderate activities. 1-min epoch MTI data were matched to observed activities, then re-categorized as either sitting or not using the 100 count/min-1 cut-point. Self-report demographics and current physical activity were collected. Generalized estimating equation for repeated measures with a binary logistic model analyses (GEE), corrected for age, gender and BMI, were conducted to ascertain the odds of the MTI data being misclassified. RESULTS: Data were from 26 healthy subjects (8 men; 50% aged <25 years; mean BMI (SD) 22.7(3.8)m/kg2). MTI sitting and standing data mode was 0 count/min-1, with 46% of sitting activities and 21% of standing activities recording 0 count/min-1. The GEE was unable to accurately isolate sitting from standing activities using the 100 count/min-1 cut-point, since all sitting activities were incorrectly predicted as standing (p=0.05). To further explore the sensitivity of MTI data to delineate sitting from standing, the upper 95% confidence interval of the mean for the sitting activities (46 count/min-1) was used to re-categorise the data; this resulted in the GEE correctly classifying 49% of sitting, and 69% of standing activities. Using the 100 count/min-1 cut-point the data were re-categorised into a combined ‘sit/stand’ category and tested against other light activities: 88% of sit/stand and 87% of light activities were accurately predicted. Using Freedson’s moderate cut-point of 1952 count/min-1 the GEE accurately predicted 97% of light vs. 90% of moderate activities. CONCLUSION: The distributions of MTI recorded sitting and standing data overlap considerably, as such the 100 count/min -1 cut-point did not accurately isolate sitting from other static standing activities. The 100 count/min -1 cut-point more accurately predicted sit/stand vs. other movement orientated activities.

Can identified stressors be used to predict profession for mental health professionals?

A difference appears to exist between stressors reported for nurses and allied health professionals working in mental health. Prominent stressors for mental health nurses include workload, administration duties and a lack of resources. Whilst these also appear to be stressors for allied health professionals, the stressor 'professional self-doubt' has also been reported for social workers. This study aimed to examine the extent to which community mental health professionals could be identified as belonging to the nursing profession or an allied health profession based on their perceived sources of stress. Ninety-eight community mental health nurses and 85 allied health professionals working in Victoria's public mental health services completed the Mental Health Professionals Stress Scale. Discriminant analysis was utilised to test the predictive value of stressors to identify profession. The main stressors reported by nurses were workload, a lack of resources and organisational problems. For allied health professionals the highest reported stressors were workload, a lack of resources, client related difficulties and organisational problems. Mental health professionals in this study could not be identified as belonging to the nursing profession or an allied health profession based on their identified sources of stress. It could well be reflective of the shift to homogenous roles in mental health services. With this being the case, there may be benefits in implementing stress reducing strategies at an organisational level.

What the hare can teach the tortoise about make-buy strategies for radical innovations

Purpose of this paper – The purpose of this investigation is to help establish: whether or not strong relationships between suppliers and customers improve performance; and if prescriptive frameworks on outsourcing radical innovations are dependent on industry clockspeed. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of UK-based manufacturers, followed by a statistical analysis. Findings – Long-term supplier links seem not to play a role in the development of radical innovations. Moreover, industry clockspeed has no significant bearing on the success or failure of any outsourcing strategy for radically new technologies. Research limitations/implications – Literature about outsourcing in the face of radical innovation can be more confidently applied to industries of all clockspeeds. Practical implications – Prescriptions for fast clockspeed industries should be applied more broadly: all industries should maintain a high degree of vertical integration in the early days of a radical innovation. Originality/value – Prior papers had explored whether or not a company should outsource radical innovations, but none had determined if this is equally true for slow industries and fast ones. Therein lies the original contribution of this paper.

Product labelling can confer sustained increases in expected and actual satiety

Expected satiety has been shown to play a key role in decisions around meal size. Recently it has become clear that these expectations can also influence the satiety that is experienced after a food has been consumed. As such, increasing the expected and actual satiety a food product confers without increasing its caloric content is of importance. In this study we sought to determine whether this could be achieved via product labelling. Female participants (N=75) were given a 223-kcal yoghurt smoothie for lunch. In separate conditions the smoothie was labelled as a diet brand, a highly-satiating brand, or an ‘own brand’ control. Expected satiety was assessed using rating scales and a computer-based ‘method of adjustment’, both prior to consuming the smoothie and 24 hours later. Hunger and fullness were assessed at baseline, immediately after consuming the smoothie, and for a further three hours. Despite the fact that all participants consumed the same food, the smoothie branded as highly-satiating was consistently expected to deliver more satiety than the other ‘brands’; this difference was sustained 24 hours after consumption. Furthermore, post-consumption and over three hours, participants consuming this smoothie reported significantly less hunger and significantly greater fullness. These findings demonstrate that the satiety that a product confers depends in part on information that is present around the time of consumption. We suspect that this process is mediated by changes to expected satiety. These effects may potentially be utilised in the development of successful weight-management products.

Joined-up governance in Australia : how the past can inform the future

Joined-up enterprises have become a cornerstone of the institutional architecture to facilitate closer linkages within and between departments and across sectors. Some of these initiatives are now mainstream enterprises, while others struggled to gain purchase or effect. Since the future is likely to be characterized by an ongoing emphasis on joined-up initiatives, an assessment of past efforts can provide a valuable backdrop for the development of new approaches and the fine tuning of existing ones. Drawing on ten years of research data, this article tracks the ebbs and flows of joined-up or integrated practice in Queensland. In doing so, it examines the drivers for integration, preferred models, and the language used to engender change. It also assesses what has worked and why and whether integrated reform has been sustained. Based on these insights, an extended integration framework is presented, which will assist those responsible for the design, monitoring, and evaluation of joined-up processes.