Learning Data-Driven Models of Non-Verbal Behaviors for Building Rapport Using an Intelligent Virtual Agent

There is a growing societal need to address the increasing prevalence of behavioral health issues, such as obesity, alcohol or drug use, and general lack of treatment adherence for a variety of health problems. The statistics, worldwide and in the USA, are daunting. Excessive alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States (with 79,000 deaths annually), and is responsible for a wide range of health and social problems. On the positive side though, these behavioral health issues (and associated possible diseases) can often be prevented with relatively simple lifestyle changes, such as losing weight with a diet and/or physical exercise, or learning how to reduce alcohol consumption. Medicine has therefore started to move toward finding ways of preventively promoting wellness, rather than solely treating already established illness. Evidence-based patient-centered Brief Motivational Interviewing (BMI) interven- tions have been found particularly effective in helping people find intrinsic motivation to change problem behaviors after short counseling sessions, and to maintain healthy lifestyles over the long-term. Lack of locally available personnel well-trained in BMI, however, often limits access to successful interventions for people in need. To fill this accessibility gap, Computer-Based Interventions (CBIs) have started to emerge. Success of the CBIs, however, critically relies on insuring engagement and retention of CBI users so that they remain motivated to use these systems and come back to use them over the long term as necessary. Because of their text-only interfaces, current CBIs can therefore only express limited empathy and rapport, which are the most important factors of health interventions. Fortunately, in the last decade, computer science research has progressed in the design of simulated human characters with anthropomorphic communicative abilities. Virtual characters interact using humans’ innate communication modalities, such as facial expressions, body language, speech, and natural language understanding. By advancing research in Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can improve the ability of artificial agents to help us solve CBI problems. To facilitate successful communication and social interaction between artificial agents and human partners, it is essential that aspects of human social behavior, especially empathy and rapport, be considered when designing human-computer interfaces. Hence, the goal of the present dissertation is to provide a computational model of rapport to enhance an artificial agent’s social behavior, and to provide an experimental tool for the psychological theories shaping the model. Parts of this thesis were already published in [LYL+12, AYL12, AL13, ALYR13, LAYR13, YALR13, ALY14].

Evoking non-repertory verbal behavior across operant classes : the effects of motor echoic sign language training within the context of a motivating operation

The individual effects that echoic, mand, and sign language training procedures have on the acquisition of verbal behavior have been widely demonstrated, but more efficient strategies are still needed. This study combined all three treatment strategies into one treatment intervention in order to investigate the joint effects they may have on verbal behavior. Six participants took part in the study. Intervention totaled 1 hour/day for 5 days/week until mastery criterion for motor echoic behavior was achieved. Although motor echoic behavior were solely targeted for acquisition, significant increases in spontaneous motor mands were noted in all treatment participants. Additionally, 4 treatment participants also demonstrated significant gains in vocal echoics and spontaneous vocal mands. No significant increases were noted for the control participant. Results suggest that the aforementioned procedure may provide more efficient results as a first-step to teaching a functional repertoire of verbal behavior to developmentally delayed children.

Mand – to Tact Training Transfer Acquisition Rates in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Limited Verbal Skills

Autism Spectrum Disorder () is defined as “the presence of severe and pervasive impairments in reciprocal social interaction and in verbal and nonverbal communication skills” (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual, 2000). It is estimated that 1 in 68 children across the United States are diagnosed with ASD. One of the most common delays that children diagnosed with ASD experience are language delays. Children with ASD that have a language delay will often develop maladaptive behaviors as a result of poor communication skills (Carr & Durand, 1985). The failure to develop mand acquisition in typical fashion results in behaviors ranging from social withdrawal to self-injurious behaviors (Cooper et. al, 2007). A lack of a strong tact repertoire can further impede and complicate the learning of other necessary components of language due to the inability to successfully label items and events in the physical environment of the child. The purpose of this study is to replicate with a reversal in verbal operant training of the procedures described in Wallace et al. (2006) in which two children with ASD underwent tact training to facilitate the formation of mands; essentially this study aims to accomplish mand training first to establish as tact. It is hypothesized that mand training will result in a greater repertoire of tacts due to strength of the relationship between mands and the control over the social environment (Cooper et al., 2007). The two children in the study will be taught to mand items that will be ranked in order of preference via stimulus preference assessment. This study is of great importance due to the indispensable value of effective social communication skills. Data gathered on improving communication skills is of great value to the ASD community as the implications for functional skills result in better communication with family and greater control of individual functioning.

Mand – to Tact Training Transfer Acquisition Rates in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Limited Verbal Skills

Autism Spectrum Disorder () is defined as “the presence of severe and pervasive impairments in reciprocal social interaction and in verbal and nonverbal communication skills” (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual, 2000). It is estimated that 1 in 68 children across the United States are diagnosed with ASD. One of the most common delays that children diagnosed with ASD experience are language delays. Children with ASD that have a language delay will often develop maladaptive behaviors as a result of poor communication skills (Carr & Durand, 1985). The failure to develop mand acquisition in typical fashion results in behaviors ranging from social withdrawal to self-injurious behaviors (Cooper et. al, 2007). A lack of a strong tact repertoire can further impede and complicate the learning of other necessary components of language due to the inability to successfully label items and events in the physical environment of the child. The purpose of this study is to replicate with a reversal in verbal operant training of the procedures described in Wallace et al. (2006) in which two children with ASD underwent tact training to facilitate the formation of mands; essentially this study aims to accomplish mand training first to establish as tact. It is hypothesized that mand training will result in a greater repertoire of tacts due to strength of the relationship between mands and the control over the social environment (Cooper et al., 2007). The two children in the study will be taught to mand items that will be ranked in order of preference via stimulus preference assessment. This study is of great importance due to the indispensable value of effective social communication skills. Data gathered on improving communication skills is of great value to the ASD community as the implications for functional skills result in better communication with family and greater control of individual functioning.

A poética do corpo não-verbal: um olhar para a comicidade em cena

Throughout our history as an actor, director and teacher, we appreciate comedic performances they proposed a dialogue with the public through the body language of the performers whose performances abdicate the use of speech of the actors. This way of representing, in the silence of the stage, caught our attention and sparked our curiosity about the subject, which is directly related to the poetic constructions of the body on the scene. Before initial readings on the subject, we begin to understand that for a long time in human history, especially in the West, understanding body was constructed from various epistemological looks disregarded the body as a unit, an incarnation of the subject in all . This kind of thinking, reflecting the philosophy of modernity, reverberated strongly about the aesthetic issues of art making, here specifically in Theatre. For several centuries the theatrical make up molded from various aesthetic elements, but ignoring the potential of embodiment of the artist, ie the theatrical text, for example, was considered for a long time, as the main element of the scene and gave little emphasis on dramaturgy elaborate body. With the emergence of reflections on the subject, brought especially from the early twentieth century, the perception of the body as a creative element and creator, also began to gain ground. Over time artistic practices began to glimpse the creative possibilities of the body, including rethinking its relationship with the text written with the spoken word. And as part of these new reflections on the body in the creation process, we proposed this research, we have entitled "A poetics of non-verbal body: a look at the comic on the scene." In our research on this subject, also seek to understand how the corporeality of the actor may give us clues to realize / build nonverbal body and comical scene. From this perspective we can analyze how could the construction of a comical and non-verbal dramaturgy from the phenomenology of laughter. And with that look, we want to point out some aspects and procedures, arising from reflections on corporeality and comedy, that constitute, among other possible, non-verbal construction methodology scenic.

Non-Verbal Categories. Analysis of an Galician Oral Narrative

Based on the concept of the triple basic structure of human communication by Poyatos (1994a, 1994b) and on the analytical and theoretical implications that derive from this, the present paper conceives the human communication as an indivisible whole in which verbal communication can not be separated from body behavior. This paper analyzes nonverbal categories used in oral communication. The corpus consists of an oral narration in Galician from which we highlighted certain kinemes (minimum units of body movement with meaning) by using the model proposed by Bouvet (2001), in order to explain the non-verbal categories with examples taken from said recordings.

Análisis pragmático contrastivo inglés/español de la intensificación verbal en textos literarios

El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en comparar las funciones pragmáticas de una estructura intensificadora en español peninsular formada con la partícula venga (venga a + infinitivo) con estructuras intensificadoras en inglés. Para ello, analizamos los factores sintácticos, semánticos y pragmáticos que el traductor tiene en cuenta a la hora de usar esta estructura en la traducción al español. El corpus lo componen fragmentos de obras literarias extraídas en Google Books. Los resultados demuestran que con esta construcción se consigue transferir al español no sólo efectos semánticos (iteración), sino también pragmáticos, como la evaluación del hablante (desacuerdo, sorpresa, etc.).

La cortesía verbal : Un estudio contrastivo entre los saludos y peticiones en los idiomas sueco y español. Författare: Daisy

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences and similarities regarding verbal politeness in greetings and requests in Swedish and the Chilean variety of Spanish. A survey with 12 questions, both open-ended and closed-ended, has been distributed to 20 native speakers of the two languages. Thus, the questions have been analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show that the perception that the Swedes and the Chileans have about verbal politeness is similar, since the speakers of both languages see it as a way to show respect towards others. The study also shows that Swedes and Chileans share a similar view upon politeness, i.e. as a social norm that facilitates social interaction between people.

La cortesía verbal : Un estudio contrastivo entre los saludos y peticiones en los idiomas sueco y español

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences and similarities regarding verbal politeness in greetings and requests in Swedish and the Chilean variety of Spanish. A survey with 12 questions, both open-ended and closed-ended, has been distributed to 20 native speakers of the two languages. Thus, the questions have been analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show that the perception that the Swedes and the Chileans have about verbal politeness is similar, since the speakers of both languages see it as a way to show respect towards others. The study also shows that Swedes and Chileans share a similar view upon politeness, i.e. as a social norm that facilitates social interaction between people.

Graph analysis of verbal fluency test discriminate between patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment and normal elderly controls

Verbal fluency is the ability to produce a satisfying sequence of spoken words during a given time interval. The core of verbal fluency lies in the capacity to manage the executive aspects of language. The standard scores of the semantic verbal fluency test are broadly used in the neuropsychological assessment of the elderly, and different analytical methods are likely to extract even more information from the data generated in this test. Graph theory, a mathematical approach to analyze relations between items, represents a promising tool to understand a variety of neuropsychological states. This study reports a graph analysis of data generated by the semantic verbal fluency test by cognitively healthy elderly (NC), patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment – subtypes amnestic(aMCI) and amnestic multiple domain (a+mdMCI) - and patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sequences of words were represented as a speech graph in which every word corresponded to a node and temporal links between words were represented by directed edges. To characterize the structure of the data we calculated 13 speech graph attributes (SGAs). The individuals were compared when divided in three (NC – MCI – AD) and four (NC – aMCI – a+mdMCI – AD) groups. When the three groups were compared, significant differences were found in the standard measure of correct words produced, and three SGA: diameter, average shortest path, and network density. SGA sorted the elderly groups with good specificity and sensitivity. When the four groups were compared, the groups differed significantly in network density, except between the two MCI subtypes and NC and aMCI. The diameter of the network and the average shortest path were significantly different between the NC and AD, and between aMCI and AD. SGA sorted the elderly in their groups with good specificity and sensitivity, performing better than the standard score of the task. These findings provide support for a new methodological frame to assess the strength of semantic memory through the verbal fluency task, with potential to amplify the predictive power of this test. Graph analysis is likely to become clinically relevant in neurology and psychiatry, and may be particularly useful for the differential diagnosis of the elderly.

On the Use of Regression and Verbal Protocol Analysis in Modeling Analysts’ Behavior in an Unstructured Task Environment: A Methodological Note

This paper discusses areas for future research opportunities by addressing accounting issues faced by management accountants practicing in hospitality organizations. Specifically, the article focuses on the use of the uniform system of accounts by operating properties, the usefulness of allocating support costs to operated departments, extending our understanding of operating costs and performance measurement systems and the certification of practicing accountants.

Edad, escolarización y tareas de Fluencia Verbal para el screening de pacientes con Enfermedad de Alzheimer

Las pruebas de Fluencia Verbal (FV) Semántica (FVS) y Fonológica (FVF) son muy empleadas en la práctica clínica. Disponer de diferentes pruebas alternativas que además tengan en cuenta el efecto de variables sociodemográficas mejorarían su uso como tests de cribado, permitiendo diferenciar a personas con y sin Enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA). Objetivos. Comparar la capacidad discriminativa de las tareas de FVS “cosas en una casa” y “alimentos” frente a la tarea “animales” entre pacientes con EA (n = 50) y sujetos sanos (n = 50); comparar el uso de los fonemas “P”-“M”-“R” como tarea alternativa y/o paralela a los fonemas “F”-“A”-“S”; y valorar el uso combinado de ambos tipos de tareas junto con el de variables sociodemográficas para la discriminación de pacientes con EA y sujetos sanos. Resultados. Tanto la categoría semántica como fonológica muestran resultados semejantes, una alta correlación, mantienen la validez de criterio y permiten su utilización de forma paralela. El modelo de predicción que logra discriminar correctamente al 91% de los sujetos evaluados es el que incluye las tareas “cosas en una casa”, los fonemas “A” - “S” y las variables edad y años de escolarización. Conclusiones. La utilización paralela de pruebas de FVS y FVF, junto con variables sociodemográficas mejora la capacidad discriminativa de las pruebas de FV

Main causes of death in Dande, Angola: results from verbal autopsies of deaths occurring during 2009–2012

bACKGROUND - The Dande Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) located in Bengo province, Angola, covers nearly 65,500 residents living in approximately 19,800 households. This study aims to describe the main causes of deaths (CoD) occurred within the HDSS, from 2009 to 2012, and to explore associations between demographic or socioeconomic factors and broad mortality groups (Group I-Communicable diseases, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions; Group II-Non-communicable diseases; Group III-Injuries; IND-Indeterminate). Methods - Verbal Autopsies (VA) were performed after death identification during routine HDSS visits. Associations between broad groups of CoD and sex, age, education, socioeconomic position, place of residence and place of death, were explored using chi-square tests and fitting logistic regression models. Results - From a total of 1488 deaths registered, 1009 verbal autopsies were performed and 798 of these were assigned a CoD based on the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Mortality was led by CD (61.0%), followed by IND (18.3%), NCD (11.6%) and INJ (9.1%). Intestinal infectious diseases, malnutrition and acute respiratory infections were the main contributors to under-five mortality (44.2%). Malaria was the most common CoD among children under 15 years old (38.6%). Tuberculosis, traffic accidents and malaria led the CoD among adults aged 15–49 (13.5%, 10.5 % and 8.0% respectively). Among adults aged 50 or more, diseases of the circulatory system (23.2%) were the major CoD, followed by tuberculosis (8.2%) and malaria (7.7%). CD were more frequent CoD among less educated people (adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval for none vs. 5 or more years of school: 1.68, 1.04–2.72). Conclusion - Infectious diseases were the leading CoD in this region. Verbal autopsies proved useful to identify the main CoD, being an important tool in settings where vital statistics are scarce and death registration systems have limitations.

La traducción del humor verbal finés-español en la literatura novelística: El caso de la novela finlandesa Ihmisen osa

En este trabajo de fin de máster estudiamos la traducción del humor en la literatura novelística. Nos interesa sobre todo en el lenguaje humorístico, y nos centramos en los recursos con los que cuenta un traductor para poder transmitir el humor lingüístico del texto fuente finlandés al texto de llegada español. Primero vemos las definiciones del humor y contemplamos las características del humor lingüístico expresado mediante el vocabulario y la aliteración. Después seguimos con los puntos de vista de algunos estudiosos sobre la traducción y la posibilidad de traducir humor en la literatura, o sea, cómo se traduce, cómo se debería traducir y a qué medida es posible mantener el efecto humorístico en el texto traducido. Las fuentes teoréticas más importantes son Salvatore Attardo sobre el humor lingüístico, Walter Nash sobre el análisis del lenguaje humorístico, y Peter Newmark sobre estrategias y métodos de traducción. En la parte empírica del trabajo realizamos una comparación entre la obra finlandesa Ihmisen osa de Kari Hotakainen y su traducción al español, Por partes, por Ursula Ojanen y Rafael García Anguita. Las principales observaciones de este trabajo de fin de máster están relacionadas con los procedimientos de traducción más útiles para un traductor de literatura humorística y con la naturaleza y del lenguaje humorístico en la obra finlandesa. Así, por ejemplo vimos que en la obra finlandesa Ihmisen osa la aliteración tiene un papel importante en la creación del efecto humorístico, y que la aliteración se puede traducir. Sin embargo, la traducción de la aliteración no suele ser el principal objetivo de la traducción, ya que eso supondría la anteposición de una característica estilística al contenido de la narrativa. También averiguamos que el procedimiento más utilizado por los traductores de esta obra, en cuanto a la traducción de las expresiones de estilo humorístico, es la sinonimia, que alude a la traducción de un término del texto fuente con un término de la lengua de llegada con un significado aproximadamente igual, pero no exactamente lo mismo. Cuando no se aspira a encontrar un equivalente exacto en el texto de llegada el traductor tiene más libertad de elegir una expresión estilísticamente adecuado en el contexto. Ocasionalmente no es posible encontrar una expresión humorística equivalente en ambos idiomas, y así el humor no se mantiene siempre en la traducción. La mayoría de los ejemplos analizados podían ser calificados como menos humorísticos que los del texto original. Al contrario de nuestra hipótesis de partida, la compensación no figura entre los procedimientos más utilizados en la traducción de esta obra.