Showing papers on "Naturalness published in 2011"

What are natural kinds

Abstract: 1 Two Questions Distinguish two questions about natural kinds First, the naturalness question: what, if anything, makes a natural kind natural? Perhaps the members of a natural kind, unlike the members of an arbitrary group, stand in some natural similarity relation to one another Perhaps they share an essence or some other natural feature Or perhaps, as conventionalists argue, the boundaries of natural kinds do not correspond to distinctions in nature

Controlling user perceptions of linguistic style: Trainable generation of personality traits

Abstract: Recent work in natural language generation has begun to take linguistic variation into account, developing algorithms that are capable of modifying the system's linguistic style based either on the user's linguistic style or other factors, such as personality or politeness While stylistic control has traditionally relied on handcrafted rules, statistical methods are likely to be needed for generation systems to scale to the production of the large range of variation observed in human dialogues Previous work on statistical natural language generation (SNLG) has shown that the grammaticality and naturalness of generated utterances can be optimized from data; however these data-driven methods have not been shown to produce stylistic variation that is perceived by humans in the way that the system intended This paper describes Personage, a highly parameterizable language generator whose parameters are based on psychological findings about the linguistic reflexes of personality We present a novel SNLG method which uses parameter estimation models trained on personality-annotated data to predict the generation decisions required to convey any combination of scalar values along the five main dimensions of personality A human evaluation shows that parameter estimation models produce recognizable stylistic variation along multiple dimensions, on a continuous scale, and without the computational cost incurred by overgeneration techniques

Evaluation of Stereoscopic Images: Beyond 2D Quality

Abstract: Perceived image quality is a standard evaluation concept for 2D imaging systems. When applied to stereoscopic 3D imaging systems, however, it does not incorporate the added value of stereoscopic depth. Higher level evaluation concepts (naturalness and viewing experience) are proposed that are sensitive to both image quality and stereoscopic depth. A 3D Quality Model is constructed in which such higher level evaluation concepts are expressed as a weighted sum of image quality and perceived depth. This model is validated by means of three experiments, in which stereoscopic depth (camera base distances and screen disparity) and image quality (white Gaussian noise and Gaussian blur) are varied. The resulting stimuli are evaluated in terms of naturalness, viewing experience, image quality and depth percept. Analysis revealed that viewing experience and naturalness incorporated variations in image quality to a similar extent, yet the added value of stereoscopic depth is incorporated significantly more by naturalness. This result classifies naturalness as the most appropriate concept to evaluate 3D quality of stereoscopic stills. The 3D Quality Model based on naturalness as evaluation concept is validly applicable to stereoscopic stills and the naturalness score is determined for approximately 75% by image quality and for approximately 25% by the added value of stereoscopic depth.

Intersecting variables and perceived sexual orientation in men

Abstract: Sociolinguistic styles tie linguistic resources together into clusters and link them to social contexts of times, groups, places, and activities. Perceptions of masculinity and sexual orientation represent a well-studied area on sociolinguistic perception, offering many variables with potentially relevant social meanings. This study examines social perceptions of guises created by intersecting three masculinity-relevant variables: pitch, /s/-fronting or backing, and (ING). First, 110 online respondents provided descriptions and naturalness ratings of speech samples that were digitially modified to include the different variants; next, 175 respondents rated the speakers on six-point scales based on the terms "smart," "knowledgeable," "masculine," "gay," "friendly," "laid-back," "country," "educated," and "confident." The results showed that /s/-fronting carries strong social meaning across multiple speakers and other linguistic cues, making speakers sound less masculine, more gay and less competent. As documented elsewhere, use of the (ING) variants -ing and -in made speakers sound more or less competent, respectively. The combination of /s/-fronting and (ING), and, independently, /s/-backing, showed more complex effects, shifting relationships between multiple percepts. Taken together, these results provide some support for style-based sociolinguistic models, but also underline the need for more sophisticated statistical treatments of covariation in social perception.

SUSY splits, but then returns

Abstract: We study the phenomenon of accidental or “emergent” supersymmetry within gauge theory and connect it to the scenarios of Split Supersymmetry and Higgs compositeness. Combining these elements leads to a significant refinement and extension of the proposal of Partial Supersymmetry, in which supersymmetry is broken at very high energies but with a remnant surviving to the weak scale. The Hierarchy Problem is then solved by a non-trivial partnership between supersymmetry and compositeness, giving a promising approach for reconciling Higgs naturalness with the wealth of precision experimental data. We discuss aspects of this scenario from the AdS/CFT dual viewpoint of higher-dimensional warped compactification. It is argued that string theory constructions with high scale supersymmetry breaking which realize warped/composite solutions to the Hierarchy Problem may well be accompanied by some or all of the features described. The central phenomenological considerations and expectations are discussed, with more detailed modelling within warped effective field theory reserved for future work.

Media Compensation Theory: A Darwinian Perspective on Adaptation to Electronic Communication and Collaboration

Abstract: This chapter proceeds from the paradox that virtual work, teams, and collaboration are generally successful, sometimes even outperforming face-to-face collaborative work efforts in spite of much theory that predicts the opposite. We review theories that have previously been used to explain behavior toward electronic communication media, highlighting a theoretical gap, which is partially filled with a new Darwinian perspective called media compensation theory. Eight theoretical principles are discussed – media naturalness, innate schema similarity, learned schema variety, evolutionary task relevance, compensatory adaptation, media humanness, cue removal, and speech imperative. Those principles are then used as a basis for a discussion of the impact that different media have on virtual collaboration, work and teams. Empirical evidence in connection with the theoretical framework is described. In particular, empirical studies of idea generation, problem solving, and business process redesign tasks are reviewed. The evidence reviewed provides empirical support for the theoretical framework proposed, and a future research agenda on virtual teams from a media naturalness perspective is proposed, especially in terms of temporal processes, adaptation, trust and cheater detection.

intersecting variables and perceived sexual orientation in Men

Abstract: Sociolinguistic styles tie linguistic resources together into clusters and link them to social contexts of times, groups, places, and activities perceptions of masculinity and sexual orientation represent a well-studied area on sociolinguistic perception, offering many variables with potentially relevant social meanings this study examines social perceptions of guises created by intersecting three mascu- linity-relevant variables: pitch, /s/-fronting or backing, and (iNG) First, 110 online respondents provided descriptions and naturalness ratings of speech samples that were digitially modified to include the different variants; next, 175 respondents rated the speakers on six-point scales based on the terms "smart," "knowledgeable," "masculine," "gay," "friendly," "laid-back," "country," "educated," and "confident" t he results showed that /s/-fronting carries strong social meaning across multiple speakers and other linguistic cues, making speakers sound less masculine, more gay and less competent As documented elsewhere, use of the (iNG) variants -ing and -in made speakers sound more or less competent, respectively the combination of /s/-fronting and (iNG), and, independently, /s/-backing, showed more complex effects, shifting relationships between multiple percepts t aken together, these results provide some support for style-based sociolinguistic models, but also underline the need for more sophisticated statistical treatments of covariation in social perception

Authenticity in Nature: Making Choices about the Naturalness of Ecosystems

Abstract: Preface. Introduction 1. The Myths of Wilderness, Myth 1: Natural Ecosystems Still Exist 2. The Myths of Wilderness, Myth 2: Naturalness is Irrelevant 3. How our Attitudes to Natural Ecosystems Change with Time and Place 4. Defining Naturalness and Authenticity 5. Authenticity, Ethics and Conservation Targets 6. The Things We Get from Natural Ecosystems 7. Global Attempts to Assess Naturalness 8. Managing for Authenticity 9. Into the Future 10. A Manifesto for Authenticity. References

Implications of first LHC results

Abstract: We discuss implications of first LHC results for models motivated by the hierarchy problem: large extra dimensions and supersymmetry. We present bounds, global fits and implications for naturalness.

Constraint from recent ATLAS results on non-universal sfermion mass models and naturalness

Abstract: We investigate the impact of recent direct supersymmetry (SUSY) searches on a non-universal sfermion mass scenario focusing on naturalness. One of the advantages of this scenario is that the non-universality between third generation and first two generation sfermion masses can relax the tension between naturalness and constraints from flavour and CP violating observables. In the parameter region, where various phenomenological constraints are satisfied, the constraints to this scenario from ATLAS 165 pb−1 “0-lepton” search and 35 pb−1 “b-jet” search are much weaker than those to the constrained minimal SUSY standard model, because of differences in the main SUSY production processes and the main decay chains. Naturalness can be easily achieved in this scenario in accord with the current direct SUSY searches. An additional dedicated analysis may be needed to discover/exclude this scenario.

Non-backward-looking Naturalness as an Environmental Value

Abstract: In their Environmental values, John O’Neill, Alan Holland and Andrew Light argue that history should matter in environmental decision-making. One reason for the importance of history is that the co...

Naturalness, Representation and the Metaphysics of Truth

Abstract: This paper explores how consideration of the notions of naturalness and eligibility, which have played an increasingly significant role in contemporary metaphysics, might impact on the study of truth. In particular, it aims to demonstrate how taking such notions seriously may be of benefit to ‘representational’ theories of truth by showing how the naturalness of truth on a representational account provides a response to the ‘Scope Problem’ presented by Lynch (2009).

Perception of Personality and Naturalness through Dialogues by Native Speakers of American English and Arabic

Abstract: Linguistic markers of personality traits have been studied extensively, but few cross-cultural studies exist. In this paper, we evaluate how native speakers of American English and Arabic perceive personality traits and naturalness of English utterances that vary along the dimensions of verbosity, hedging, lexical and syntactic alignment, and formality. The utterances are the turns within dialogue fragments that are presented as text transcripts to the workers of Amazon's Mechanical Turk. The results of the study suggest that all four dimensions can be used as linguistic markers of all personality traits by both language communities. A further comparative analysis shows cross-cultural differences for some combinations of measures of personality traits and naturalness, the dimensions of linguistic variability and dialogue acts.

Perception of Personality and Naturalness through Dialogues by Native Speakers of American English and Arabic

Abstract: Linguistic markers of personality traits have been studied extensively, but few cross-cultural studies exist. In this paper, we evaluate how native speakers of American English and Arabic perceive personality traits and naturalness of English utterances that vary along the dimensions of verbosity, hedging, lexical and syntactic alignment, and formality. The utterances are the turns within dialogue fragments that are presented as text transcripts to the workers of Amazon's Mechanical Turk. The results of the study suggest that all four dimensions can be used as linguistic markers of all personality traits by both language communities. A further comparative analysis shows cross-cultural differences for some combinations of measures of personality traits and naturalness, the dimensions of linguistic variability and dialogue acts.

Towards naturalness scales of pragmatic complexity

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to handle pragmatic complexity within the framework of Natural Linguistics. Specifically it aims at building two naturalness scales of the complexity of pragmatic inferences based on the naturalness parameters of trans-parency–opacity and of biuniqueness–ambiguity, illustrated mainly with French examples. The scales are complementary: transparency–opacity deals with hierarchized meanings, biuniqueness–ambiguity with exclusive alternative meanings. Pragmatic complexity is intended here as a function of the number and types of inferences or inferential steps included in the description of an utterance meaning. It is defined quantitatively and qualitatively and converges with cognitive complexity. The scales distinguish phenomena that are to varying degrees opaque or ambiguous (indirect, elliptic or non-literal) according to whether there is flouting or violation of a Gricean maxim and how this takes place. The number of cotextual and/or contextual dimensions as well as variable cog-nitive operations, modes of reasoning and meaning relations are taken as measures of pragmatic complexity. The paper also discusses the relation between complexity and markedness. This issue reveals a conflict between the perspectives of speaker and hearer.

When effective theories predict: The Inevitability of Mercury's anomalous perihelion precession

Abstract: If the concepts underlying Effective Theory were appreciated from the earliest days of Newtonian gravity, Le Verrier's announcement in 1845 of the anomalous perihelion precession of Mercury would have been no surprise. Furthermore, the size of the effect could have been anticipated through "naturalness" arguments well before the definitive computation in General Relativity. Thus, we have an illustration of how Effective Theory concepts can guide us in extending our knowledge to "new physics", and not just in how to reduce larger theories to restricted (e.g., lower energy) domains.

Solving the Naturalness Problem by Baby Universes in the Lorentzian Multiverse

Abstract: We propose a solution of the naturalness problem in the context of the multiverse wavefunction without the anthropic argument. If we include microscopic wormhole configurations in the path integral, the wave function becomes a superposition of universes with various values of the coupling constants such as the cosmological constant, the parameters in the Higgs potential, and so on. We analyze the quantum state of the multiverse, and evaluate the density matrix of one universe. We show that the coupling constants induced by the wormholes are fixed in such a way that the density matrix is maximized. In particular, the cosmological constant, which is in general time-dependent, is chosen such that it takes an extremely small value in the far future. We also discuss the gauge hierarchy problem and the strong CP problem in this context. Our study predicts that the Higgs mass is 140\pm20 GeV and {\theta}=0.

Translation naturalness in literary works: English to Persian

Abstract: Naturalness as well as accuracy and clearness is one of the main features of evaluating translation of literary books. An acceptable translated book is the one which includes all these three factors. Based on the tendencies of translators to create good and natural translation pieces, and to show the necessity of this action, the researcher in this paper tries to study the naturalness flow of some literary short stories in Iran to reveal some strong and weak points of natural translations of some of these books. As such, two research questions are derived in this study: do the short stories meet natural translation? Does the attraction of these stories have relation with their naturalness? The most important reason for choosing these books is that the researcher found that although literary books in Iran have lots of fans especially among students of schools and private English institutions, these books which are written in a simple language and are the summary of some of the great literary books, such as The scarlet letter by Hawthorne, Little women by May Alcott, Dr. Zhivago by Pasternak, etc., show some lacks in translation naturalness. This article covers 4 parts as introduction including theories of naturalness, method, result and discussion, conclusion.

The rise of complexity in inflectional morphology

Abstract: This contribution is meant to deal, among the papers devoted to complexity in naturalness theory, with the rise of inflectional complexity in first language acquisition and in diachronic change. These two sections are preceded by an introduction devoted to the conceptualisation of inflectional complexity within the theory of Natural Morphology and to explicating factors of morphological complexity. The focus will be on unproductive patterns in acquisition after the child’s detection of morphological (de)composition. Additional topics will be the role of the naturalness parameters of transparency, iconicity, (bi)uniqueness, and of figure and ground. Main topics of the third section on diachrony will be distributed exponence and the control of three classical claims on diachronic change by Natural Morphology in studying changes from Latin to Romance languages.

Constraint from recent ATLAS results on non-universal sfermion mass models and naturalness

Abstract: We investigate the impact of recent direct supersymmetry (SUSY) searches on a non-universal sfermion mass scenario focusing on naturalness. One of the advantages of this scenario is that the non-universality between third generation and first two generation sfermion masses can relax the tension between naturalness and constraints from flavour and CP violating observables. In the parameter region, where various phenomenological constraints are satisfied, the constraints to this scenario from ATLAS 165pb-1 "0-lepton" search and 35pb-1 "b-jet" search are much weaker than those to the constrained minimal SUSY standard model, because of differences in the main SUSY production processes and the main decay chains. Naturalness can be easily achieved in this scenario in accord with the current direct SUSY searches. An additional dedicated analysis may be needed to discover/exclude this scenario.

Naturalness of electroweak physics within minimal supergravity

Abstract: Low energy supersymmetry is motivated by its use as a solution to the hierarchy problem of the electroweak scale. Having motivated this model with naturalness arguments, it is then necessary to check whether the experimentally allowed parameter space permits realisations of the model with low fine tuning. The scope of this thesis is a study of naturalness of the electroweak physics in the minimal supergravity model. The latest experimental constraints are applied, and the fine tuning is quantitatively evaluated for a scan across the parameter space. The fine tuning of the electroweak scale is evaluated at 2-loop order, and the fine tuning of the neutralino dark matter thermal relic energy density is also determined. The natural regions of the parameter space are identified and the associated phenomenology relevant for detection discussed. Naturalness limits are also found for the parameter space and spectrum. The minimum fine tuning found is 1 part in 9 when dark matter constraints are neglected, and 1 part in 15 when dark matter constraints are satisfied. For both cases, the minimum fine tuning is found for a Higgs mass of 115 GeV irrespective of whether the Higgs mass constraint is applied or not. The most natural spectrum includes light superpartner fermions, and heavy superpartner scalars. Minimal supergravity currently remains viable with respect to naturalness and a natural realisation may be discovered within the next couple of years.

Benedict Spinoza on the Naturalness of Democracy

Abstract: Benedict Spinoza is arguably the first important political philosopher to endorse democracy as the best government. He does so primarily on the basis of the claim that it is the most natural regime. However, there are features of Spinoza’s argument that complicate efforts to interpret his understanding of the naturalness of democracy, especially (i) the tension between his claims about the naturalness and rationality of democracy; and (ii) uncertainty about Spinoza’s attitude toward the natural end or goal of political life. This study argues that Spinoza’s claims about the naturalness of democracy are only fully intelligible in light of the connection between his metaphysics, on the one hand, and his conception of political right, on the other. We conclude that Spinoza believed the naturalness, and hence superiority, of democracy rests on its capacity to promote a formative purpose that includes both the perfection of social construction in the state and the intellectual and moral development of individuals.

Perceptual Study on the Effects of Language Transfer on the Naturalness of Japanese Prosody for Isolated Words

Abstract: Many Japanese language learners have a desire to learn how to speak natural sounding Japanese. Despite this, due to language transfer, they might find it difficult to attain this goal. The errors that occur due to language transfer can vary widely from first language to first language. In this paper, we look at what kinds of accents cause the greatest loss in naturalness in terms of pronunciation. Here, we focus on prosodic errors at the lexical level. For this, we constructed a balanced speech database emphasizing number of mora, accent type, and the existence of heavy syllables, recording the speech of individuals who can pronounce both Japanese and another language (English, Chinese, and Korean) at a native level. For each word, we had each individual produce the word in the Tokyo Japanese Dialect and the foreign accent of the other language that they speak. For the present analysis, we used STRAIGHT to morph the native Japanese speech into the accented speech for a variety of parameters. Through this process we were able to obtain speech at various levels between the accented speech and native speech for each parameter. We had native Japanese speakers evaluate the morphed samples as well as the native samples, and inspected the results of the evaluation.

Comparison of Native and Non-native Evaluations of the Naturalness of Japanese Words with Prosody Modified through Voice Morphing

Abstract: Information on what kinds of mispronunciation cause the greatest loss in naturalness can be used in guidance to help learners achieve their goals of speaking with good pronunciation. We recorded Japanese words spoken by bilinguals in Tokyo Japanese and in foreign accents (English and Korean) and morphed them together with STRAIGHT emphasizing different acoustic parameters. By using STRAIGHT, we can simulate a wide variety of English-accented and Korean-accented pronunciations of Japanese. Then, we had native Japanese speakers and non-native speakers (Australian) evaluate the naturalness of these morphed utterances. The experimental results showed that Australian learners were very insensitive to the difference between native and non-native pitch although Japanese speakers were critically sensitive to these errors. Following these results, we give some pedagogical suggestions on what kind of pronunciation guidance is necessary for learners to become aware of what is unnatural to native speakers. Index Terms: Foreign language learning, foreign accent, Japanese, naturalness, acoustic morphing, listening test

The Role of Morphological Naturalness in the Production of Innovative Verbs in English and Polish: A Comparative Study

Abstract: This paper constitutes an attempt to shed some light on the formation of innovative verbs by Polish and English-speaking children. It argues that verbal innovation can be accounted for on the grounds of Natural Morphology, proposing that children opt for cognitively simple, i.e. unmarked derivational patterns. Consequently, they come up with iconic coinages that are either metaphorical (in the sense of Natural Morphology), or diagrammatic and, at the same time, morphotactically and semantically transparent. As might be easily predicted, iconicity manifests itself in the two languages in question through the use of different derivational mechanisms stemming from typological divergences between English and Polish.

Black holes reconsidered

Abstract: I review elements of the foundations of black-hole theory with attention to problematic issues, and describe some techniques which either seem to help with the difficulties or at least investigate their scope. The definition of black holes via event horizons has been problematic because it depends on knowing the global structure of space-time; often attempts to avoid this (e.g. apparent horizons) require knowledge of the interior geometry. I suggest studying instead the holonomy relating the exterior neighborhood of the incipient horizon to the regime of distant observers; at least in the spherically symmetric case, this holonomy will develop certain universal features, in principle observable from signals emitted from infalling objects. I discuss the theory of quantum fields in curved space-time, and the difficulties with Hawking's prediction of black-hole radiation. I then show that the usual, very natural, theory of quantum fields in curved space-time runs into difficulties when applied to measurement problems, interactions, zero-point effects and stress-energies. I suggest that we take seriously the possibility that this theory, for all its naturalness, may not be quite right.

Optimizing speech naturalness in voice user interface design: A weakly-supervised approach

Abstract: Speech-enabled applications are gradually finding their way into the lives of today's society. One major concern that is likely to increase the acceptability and popularity of these products is how natural the products sound. This paper therefore concentrates on improving speech naturalness in voice user interface (VUI) designs. The reason for this is to enhance communication, as users will be interacting with a more human (natural) sounding system. Full implementation of a tone language synthesizer, using the Hidden Markov Model approach is presented. Results obtained from this implementation sounds promising with improved intelligibility and well-spoken utterances. The system is currently undergoing rigorous refinements to ensure adaptability and robustness of the design. We are optimistic that this paper shall expand our science and technology horizons and prepare us, the developing world for an in-depth research into the field of speech technologies that will certainly re-direct our livelihood.

A "natural" approach to text complexity

Abstract: Recent studies on linguistic complexity (Miestamo 2006, 2009, Miestamo et al. 2008) offer me the opportunity for comparing and re-discussing some major theoretical concepts that were at the basis of my model on textual complexity (2002, 2003, 2004) and which are also fundamental assumptions in those studies. Comparability is limited by the different objects of analysis, text in my research vs. cross-linguistic grammars there, but it is justified by a strong similarity in the very conceptualisation of complexity and in the criteria for defining it. The aim of this paper is to re-propose and further elaborate on my theoretical approach and confirm its validity. Text complexity is viewed as an instance of system complexity and text as a complex system. The analysis of text complexity under this light presupposes conceiving of the text as a dynamic configuration of components that, in the course of the text progression, variously interplay and with varied effects. The theory of complex systems offers good instruments for modelling this type of interplay and for explaining the changes and readjustments that follow. A theory of naturalness/markedness can help motivate and predict the emergence, type and scope of textual complexity.