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ISCApad #216 |
| Tuesday, June 14, 2016 by Chris Wellekens |
4 Academic and Industry Notes
| 4-1 | Carnegie Speech
Carnegie Speech produces systems to teach people how to speak another language understandably. Some of its products include NativeAccent, SpeakIraqi, SpeakRussian, and ClimbLevel4. You can find out more at www.carnegiespeech.com. You can also read about Forbes.com awarding it a Best Breakout Idea of 2009 at: http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/21/best-breakout-ideas-2009-entrepreneurs-technology-breakout_slide_11.html
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| 4-2 | Research in Interactive Virtual Experiences at USC CA USA REU Site: Research in Interactive Virtual Experiences --------------------------------------------------------------------
The Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) offers a 10-week summer research program for undergraduates in interactive virtual experiences. A multidisciplinary research institute affiliated with the University of Southern California, the ICT was established in 1999 to combine leading academic researchers in computing with the creative talents of Hollywood and the video game industry. Having grown to encompass a total of 170 faculty, staff, and students in a diverse array of fields, the ICT represents a unique interdisciplinary community brought together with a core unifying mission: advancing the state-of-the-art for creating virtual reality experiences so compelling that people will react as if they were real.
Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of ICT research, we welcome applications from students in computer science, as well as many other fields, such as psychology, art/animation, interactive media, linguistics, and communications. Undergraduates will join a team of students, research staff, and faculty in one of several labs focusing on different aspects of interactive virtual experiences. In addition to participating in seminars and social events, students will also prepare a final written report and present their projects to the rest of the institute at the end of summer research fair.
Students will receive $5000 over ten weeks, plus an additional $2800 stipend for housing and living expenses. Non-local students can also be reimbursed for travel up to $600. The ICT is located in West Los Angeles, just north of LAX and only 10 minutes from the beach.
This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The site is expected to begin summer 2013, pending final award issuance.
Students can apply online at: http://ict.usc.edu/reu/ Application deadline: March 31, 2013
For more information, please contact Evan Suma at reu@ict.usc.edu.
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| 4-3 | Announcing the Master of Science in Intelligent Information Systems Carnegie Mellon University
degree designed for students who want to rapidly master advanced content-analysis, mining, and intelligent information technologies prior to beginning or resuming leadership careers in industry and government. Just over half of the curriculum consists of graduate courses. The remainder provides direct, hands-on, project-oriented experience working closely with CMU faculty to build systems and solve problems using state-of-the-art algorithms, techniques, tools, and datasets. A typical MIIS student completes the program in one year (12 months) of full-time study at the Pittsburgh campus. Part-time and distance education options are available to students employed at affiliated companies. The application deadline for the Fall 2013 term is December 14, 2012. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.lti.cs.cmu.edu/education/msiis/overview.shtml
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| 4-4 | Master in linguistics (Aix-Marseille) France Master's in Linguistics (Aix-Marseille Université): Linguistic Theories, Field Linguistics and Experimentation TheLiTEx offers advanced training in Linguistics. This specialty focuses Linguistics is aimed at presenting in an original way the links between corpus linguistics and scientific experimentation on the one hand and laboratory and field methodologies on the other. On the basis of a common set of courses (offered within the first year), TheLiTEx offers two paths: Experimental Linguistics (LEx) and Language Contact & Typology (LCT) The goal of LEx is the study of language, speech and discourse on the basis of scientific experimentation, quantitative modeling of linguistic phenomena and behavior. It focuses on a multidisciplinary approach which borrows its methodologies to human physical and biological sciences and its tools to computer science, clinical approaches, engineering etc.. Among the courses offered: semantics, phonetics / phonology, morphology, syntax or pragmatics, prosody and intonation, and the interfaces between these linguistic levels, in their interactions with the real world and the individual, in a biological, cognitive and social perspective. Within the second year, a set of more specialized courses is offered such as Language and the Brain and Laboratory Phonology. LCT aims at understanding the world's linguistic diversity, focusing on language contact, language change and variation (European, Asian and African languages, Creoles, sign language, etc.).. This specialty focuses, from a a linguistic and sociolinguistic perspective, on issues of field linguistics and taking into account both the human and socio-cultural dimension of language (speakers, communities). It also focuses on documenting rare and endangered languages and to engage a reflection on linguistic minorities. This path also provides expertise and intervention models (language policy and planning) in order to train students in the management of contact phenomena and their impact on the speakers, languages and societies More info at: http://thelitex.hypotheses.org/678
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| 4-5 | NEW MASTER IN BRAIN AND COGNITION AT UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA, BARCELONA NEW MASTER IN BRAIN AND COGNITION AT UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA, BARCELONA
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| 4-6 | Masters à la Sorbonne (Paris) Les masters d'Ingénierie de la langue de Paris-Sorbonne, ILGII (R) et IILGI (P), sont maintenant regroupés dans une seule spécialité de la mention Littérature, Philosophie, Linguistique.
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| 4-7 | New Masters in Machine Learning, Speech and Language Processing at Cambridge University, UK New Masters in Machine Learning, Speech and Language Processing
This is a new twelve-month full-time MPhil programme offered by the Computational and Biological Learning Group (CBL) and the Speech Group in the Cambridge University Department of Engineering, with a unique, joint emphasis on both machine learning and on speech and language technology. The course aims: to teach the state of the art in machine learning, speech and language processing; to give students the skills and expertise necessary to take leading roles in industry; to equip students with the research skills necessary for doctoral study.
UK and EU students applications should be completed by 9 January 2015 for admission in October 2015. A limited number of studentships may be available for exceptional UK and eligible EU applicants.
Self-funding students who do not wish to be considered for support from the Cambridge Trusts have until 30 June 2015 to submit their complete applications.
More information about the course can be found here: http://www.mlsalt.eng.cam.ac.uk/
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| 4-8 | The International Standard Language Resource Number (ISLRN) The Resource Management Agency (RMA), an important language resource player in South Africa, adopts the International Standard Language Resource Number (ISLRN) initiative
The RMA is now a certified provider to the ISLRN system. This means that the RMA can apply for ISLRNs on behalf of the developers of the data that is managed and distributed via the RMA website. The RMA has already submitted 117 language resources to the ISLRN, including language resources for the 11 official languages of South Africa. These include text and speech resources such as text corpora (annotated, genre classification, parallel), translation memories, custom dictionaries for government domain, compound semantic and splitting datasets, frequency word lists, speech corpora, and pronunciation dictionaries. The meta-information for these language resources is also available on the ISLRN website with a broad international audience. Background As part of an international effort to document and archive the various language resource development efforts around the world, a system of assigning ISLRNs was established in November 2013. The ISLRN is a unique ?persistent identifier? to be assigned to each language resource. The establishment of ISLRNs was a major step in the networked and shared world of human language technologies. Unique resources must be identified as they are, and meta-catalogues require a common identification format to manage data correctly. Therefore, language resources should carry identical identification schemes independent of their representations, whatever their types and wherever their physical locations (on hard drives, internet or intranet) (http://islrn.org/).
About RMA: The Department of Arts and Culture of South Africa established the RMA to manage and distribute reusable text and speech resources developed by the National Centre for Human Language Technology from a centralised location. As many of the South African languages are deemed resource-scarce, the RMA aspires to make data resources for these languages more readily available. To find out more about RMA, please visit the RMA website: http://rma.nwu.ac.za.
About ELRA: The European Language Resources Association (ELRA) is a non-profit-making organisation founded by the European Commission in 1995, with the mission of providing a clearing house for language resources and promoting human language technologies. To find out more about ELRA, please visit the website: http://www.elra.info
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| 4-9 | ELRA and LDC partner on a joint distribution of Language Resources Press Release - Immediate The Conference on Computational Natural Language Learning (CoNLL) is accompanied every year by a shared task intended to promote natural language processing applications and evaluate them in a standard setting. In 2006, the shared task was devoted to the parsing of syntactic dependencies using corpora from up to thirteen languages. The task aimed to define and extend the then-current state of the art in dependency parsing, a technology that complemented previous tasks by producing a different kind of syntactic description of input text. Within this framework, ELRA and LDC are pleased to announce the release of 2006 CoNLL Shared Task - Ten Languages and 2006 CoNLL Shared Task ? Arabic & Czech consisting of dependency treebanks used as part of the CoNLL 2006 shared task on multi-lingual dependency parsing. The languages covered in 2006 CoNLL Shared Task ? Ten Languages are: Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. The source data in the treebanks consists principally of various texts (e.g., textbooks, news, literature) annotated in dependency format. These packages can be found in the ELRA and LDC catalogues under the following references: 2006 CoNLL Shared Task - Ten Languages ISLRN: 578-227-532-044-0
2006 CoNLL Shared Task ? Arabic & Czech ISLRN: 798-485-294-792-1 ***About CoNLL and 2006 shared task*** *** About ELRA *** Contacts:
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| 4-10 | Organisation des JEP 2018 Chères et chers collègues,
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| 4-11 | Call for Bids Speech Prosody 2018 The Advisory Board of SProSIG, the Speech Prosody Special Interest Group, invites bids from sites interested in hosting its flagship conference, Speech Prosody, in 2018.
The bid process will proceed as follows:
(1) Optional: Groups interested in hosting a bid are invited to express interest in an e-mail to the current SProSIG Secretary and/or President (e.g., by replying to this e-mail).
(2) Optional: Each group interested in hosting the conference is invited to give a presentation on June 1, 2016 at the Speech Prosody 2016 conference in Boston.
(3) Required: Each bid should then be formalized in a written document, mailed to the secretary of SProSIG by June 15, 2016. These documents will be posted on the SProSIG web page for all SProSIG members to read.
(4) Selection of the site for Speech Prosody 2018 will then be conducted using an on-line ballot. Each current member of SProSIG will be allowed to vote.
Bids to host Speech Prosody 2018 should include the following information:
(a) Names and affiliations of members of the organizing committee.
(b) Information about institutional support for the conference if any.
(c) Tentative location of the conference (city and, if possible, venue). Oral and written presentation of the bid should highlight attributes that make both city and site suitable for hosting an international conference, including transportation to/from and within the city, lodging and dining options near the proposed venue, facilities in the proposed venue for a 300-person oral session and a 40-poster poster session, and any other attributes likely to be of interest to the members of SProSIG.
(d) Tentative dates of the proposed conference (typically four days in late May 2018)
(e) Proposed theme of the conference and/or proposed new session topics that will be included, along with existing session topics of the Speech Prosody conference, in the Conference Call for Papers.
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| 4-12 | LREC 2016 Proceedings The LREC 2016 Online Proceedings are now online and can be accessed from: https://t.co/ioY6MWdhg6
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| 4-13 | SProSIG Bids for Speech prosody 2018 SProSIG
The purpose of the Speech Prosody Special Interest Group (SProSIG) is to promote interest in Speech Prosody; to provide a means of exchanging news of recent research developments and other matters of interest in Speech Prosody; to sponsor meetings and workshops in Speech Prosody that appear to be timely and worthwhile; and to provide and make available resources relevant to Speech Prosody. SProSIG is a special interest group of ISCA, and of IPA. Our web page is http://sprosig.org.
Membership in SProSIG is obtained by signing up for the mailing list. The mailing list is currently housed at https://lists.illinois.edu/lists/info/sprosig.
All members of SProSIG are allowed to vote on the location of the Speech Prosody conference. Bids for Speech Prosody 2018 will be presented orally at Speech Prosody 2016, and in written form during June 2016.
SProSIG is administered by officers under the direction of a Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC). Officers are nominated biennially in August, and elected in September. Current officers are Keikichi Hirose, Mark Hasegawa-Johnson, Hansjörg Mixdorff and Yi Xu.
The founding officers of SProSIG specified services to members including dedicated web pages, an e-mail newsletter, a bibliographic database, workshops and special sessions, and the organization of the international conference Speech Prosody. The web page has been little updated since 2012, and the newsletter has been dormant far longer; it is our intention to revise both. Suggestions about content and frequency are welcome, especially if delivered in a friendly tone of voice to any current officer or PAC member at Speech Prosody 2016. Call for Bids for the hosting of SP9: Speech Prosody 2018
Members of SProSIG with a history of attendance at Speech Prosody conferences are encouraged to submit bids to host SP9: Speech Prosody 2018. Written bids must be submitted by July 15, 2016 to the SProSIG Secretary, Mark Hasegawa-Johnson, at jhasegaw@illinois.edu. All written bids received by that date will be posted at http://sprosig.org. The full membership of SProSIG will then be invited to read the written bids, and an on-line vote will be held to determine the location of SP9. A written bid may contain any information that you believe is likely to sway the members of SProSIG, but must contain at least the following information:
City and Country in which the conference will be held:
General Chair (Name, Affiliation, and a list of Speech Prosody conferences that he or she has attended):
Organizing Committee Members (Same information as above):
Proposed conference period: DD/MM/YYYY – DD/MM/YYYY
Expected early registration fee for ISCA members:
Contractor (University, Company, and/or Contractor organizing the conference; this can be changed later if necessary):
Venue (name of hotel, conference center, university etc. Can be changed later if it necessary):
Access to the venue from the closest major airport (Is it easy for participants to reach the venue?):
Accommodation (a rough idea on number of near-by hotels and their prices. If organizers plan to offer university dormitories for participants, please mention with some information.):
Scientific Theme of Speech Prosody 2018 (if any):
Other points to be emphasized (if any):
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| 4-14 | (2016-07-06) Assemblée générale extraordinaire AFCP Lors des prochaines Journées d'Études sur la Parole, l'AFCP tiendra son assemblée
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