Tag Archives: human communication

Illinois State University: Virtual reality technology and individuals with communication disorders

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Illinois State University: Virtual reality technology and individuals with communication disorders. “For the past three years, Dr. Jennine Harvey, Dr. Isaac Chang, Dr. Megan Cuellar, and Dr. Gabriela Fonseca Pereira have investigated the efficacy of virtual reality environments for speech-language pathology intervention. This interdisciplinary team has developed a real-world virtual environment to examine the potential of VR technology and innovative applications in evidence-based practice in SLP intervention, clinical training, and pedagogy.”

ReCANVo: A database of real-world communicative and affective nonverbal vocalizations (Scientific Data)

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Scientific Data: ReCANVo: A database of real-world communicative and affective nonverbal vocalizations . “Here, we present ReCANVo: Real-World Communicative and Affective Nonverbal Vocalizations – a novel dataset of non-speech vocalizations labeled by function from minimally speaking individuals. The ReCANVo database contains over 7000 vocalizations spanning communicative and affective functions from eight minimally speaking individuals, along with communication profiles for each participant.”

The Verge: Google’s AI pitch is a recipe for email hell

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The Verge: Google’s AI pitch is a recipe for email hell. “Of all the emotions I expected out of this week’s Google I/O keynote, ‘dread’ was not on my short list. Google has spent a couple of decades creating products that make my life easier. This week, it demonstrated the exact opposite: a way to make communicating with other people worse.”

MIT: MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication takes aim at the destructive nature of social media

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MIT: MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication takes aim at the destructive nature of social media. “The MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and the closely affiliated nonprofit Cortico today announced the launch of a broad-based effort that draws on expertise in face-to-face human dialogue, digital networks, and machine learning to develop safe and trusted spaces for meaningful, nonpolarizing human connection and civic impact.”

Cornell University: Study uncovers social cost of using AI in conversations

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Cornell University: Study uncovers social cost of using AI in conversations. “In addition to greater efficiency and positivity, the group found that when participants think their partner is using more AI-suggested responses, they perceive that partner as less cooperative, and feel less affiliation toward them.”

Lancaster University: Research explores how WhatsApp and Zoom calls can help young children communicate

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Lancaster University: Research explores how WhatsApp and Zoom calls can help young children communicate . “Lancaster University researchers will look at how infants and toddlers learn to communicate using TV streaming, digital books and family Zoom calls in their everyday home lives. Toddlers, Tech and Talk, a ground-breaking project led by researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University, is the most in-depth study to date into how the daily exposure of babies and very young children to digital technologies influences how they speak and interact with others.”

TechCrunch: Google tests Project Relate, a voice recognition and synthesis app for people with speech impairments

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TechCrunch: Google tests Project Relate, a voice recognition and synthesis app for people with speech impairments. “Google is looking for help developing an Android app aimed at providing more communication options for people with speech impairments. Project Relate, as the effort and app is now called, will provide voice transcription and synthesis that could make it easier for users to be understood.”

The Conversation: Are people lying more since the rise of social media and smartphones?

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The Conversation: Are people lying more since the rise of social media and smartphones?. “Social psychologists and communication scholars have long wondered not just who lies the most, but where people tend to lie the most – that is, in person or through some other communication medium. A seminal 2004 study was among the first to investigate the connection between deception rates and technology. Since then, the ways we communicate have shifted – fewer phone calls and more social media messaging, for example – and I wanted to see how well earlier results held up.”

The Observer: CWU offering students Emotional Intelligence Badges for display on their social media platforms

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The Observer: CWU offering students Emotional Intelligence Badges for display on their social media platforms. “[Central Washington University] is offering the first ever Emotional Intelligence Badges for students to display on their social media profiles through its new course, Emotional Intelligence for Professionals (BUS411). The course will lead students through five different modules that break down emotional intelligence, help them understand their own behaviors and work on workplace communication skills.”

CNET: Lonely? Need to talk? Chat confidentially with these apps for free

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CNET: Lonely? Need to talk? Chat confidentially with these apps for free. “The premise is intriguing. We all need to talk sometimes, but you might not always be comfortable opening up to a friend or loved one about certain topics. And professional therapy might not be an option right now. So why not chat with a stranger, who can lend a sympathetic ear and help you talk things through? Recently, I told you about HearMe, a free app that matches up folks who need to talk with empathic ‘listeners.’ More recently, I’ve run across another app called Lyf that seems helpful as well.”

Phys .org: Research explores ways to bridge gaps in science communication

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Phys .org: Research explores ways to bridge gaps in science communication. “‘Give me a break!’ ‘Fake News!’ ‘Blah Blah Blah…’ These retorts are symptoms of a fundamental problem in science communication—new research from the Tepper School of Business shows that when we hear something that doesn’t make sense to us, it’s much easier to respond with derision than to work to understand what is being said. It’s difficult to bridge these gaps in understanding because they are driven by fundamental differences in values, perspectives, and knowledge bases. It means that debates escalate into arguments unless people work to build trust, respect, and common ground.”

Politico: The Rise of the Twitter Thread

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Politico: The Rise of the Twitter Thread. “We don’t get to choose the literary genre of our epoch, and in this worst-of-times-worst-of-times political era, we have the Twitter thread. A series of tweets, written by one person and strung together by Twitter’s vertical border wall, the thread has emerged as this year’s ascendant form of argument: urgent, galloping, personality-driven and—depending on your view of the topic—either tacky and misleading or damned persuasive.”

Phys.org: Researchers test ‘social contagion’ in laboratory setting

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Phys.org: Researchers test ‘social contagion’ in laboratory setting . “Social contagion describes the propagation of beliefs, evaluations and attitudes through a network of people. It’s well understood that political beliefs, emotional attitudes and opinions are contagious within a network, but the precise mechanisms and dynamics are not well understood for two reasons: the complexity of network structures, and the behavioral processes that operate within the network.”

Smithsonian: How the Cell Phone Is Forever Changing Human Communication

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A little far afield, but I find it fascinating so there. From Smithsonian Magazine: How the Cell Phone Is Forever Changing Human Communication. “Sure — it may sound ridiculous that Snapchat, an application through which friends send pictures that can only be viewed for a few seconds before deletion, has the ability to destroy relationships, but cell phones have started a new type of conversation, one that has catalyzed the restructuring of our social environment. Every picture, every snapchat, every punctuation mark is part of a new form of language brought about by a new tool of communication.”

EJO – Bots, Lies And Propaganda: The New Misinformation Economy

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Depressing – really depressing – but so important: Bots, Lies And Propaganda: The New Misinformation Economy “The ‘attention economy’ is rapidly transforming itself into a misinformation economy in which it is profitable for some players to use widespread lies, conspiracy theories and other propaganda, especially through social media. This article summarises recent media research findings which reveal the risks and collateral damage of modern communication technologies.”