Les besoins croissants en moyens de télécommunication nécessitent le développement de grands réflecteurs spatiaux paraboliques. Un nouveau concept d'architecture d'antenne déployable est ainsi proposé en partenariat avec le CNES. La conception de son ossature repose sur une revue de solutions pour faire appel à des mécanismes de ciseau associés à des articulations flexibles. Des modélisations numériques par éléments finis sont d'abord développées pour simuler le déploiement par restitution de l'énergie emmagasinée dans ces articulations lors du pliage. Un démonstrateur expérimental avec un système de compensation gravitaire est ensuite réalisé. Des essais et mesures sont effectués pour caractériser son comportement en statique et dynamique puis sont comparés avec les résultats issus des simulations. La mise en forme de la surface réflectrice par un réseau de câbles est étudiée par la suite. Une méthode innovante de recherche de forme permettant d'obtenir un réseau parabolique en tension uniforme est alors proposée. Elle est appliquée à différentes typologies de réseaux et l'erreur de surface résultant de sa facettisation est évaluée. Le procédé d'accrochage de ce réseau sur l'ossature de l'antenne est également traité. / The growing needs in telecommunications require the development of large parabolic reflectors. A new conceptual design for the architecture of a deployable antenna is therefore proposed in partnership with the CNES. The design of its framework is based on a review of solutions which leads to scissor mechanisms associated with flexible joints. Numerical modelings with finite elements are first developed to simulate the deployment by the release of the energy stored in the joints after the folding. An experimental prototype with a gravity compensation device is then realized. Tests and measurements are performed to characterize the static and dynamic behavior and compared with the results of simulations. Shaping of the reflective surface by a net of cables is then studied. A new form-finding method for obtaining a net with a uniform tension is then proposed. It is applied to different parabolic typologies of nets and the error due to surface faceting is evaluated. The process of net attachment on the antenna rim structure is also treated.

INTRODUÇÃO: O Transtorno Fonológico (TF) é uma alteração de fala, de causa indefinida e de manifestações heterogêneas. OBJETIVO: Caracterizar crianças com TF, quanto à: habilidade fonológica (porcentagem de consoantes corretas - PCC; porcentagem de consoantes corretas revisada - PCC-R; densidade de processos fonológicos- PDI; tipos de processos fonológicos; número de diferentes tipos de processos fonológicos; número de sons ausentes), estimulabilidade, inconsistência de fala, habilidades metafonológicas, habilidades de discriminação auditiva e potenciais evocados e auditivos de curta (PEATE) e longa latências (PEALL). MÉTODO: Participaram 29 crianças, com idades entre 5;0 anos e 7;11 anos com TF e submetidas a avaliação do PEATE e PEALL com diferentes estímulos. Dois diferentes estudos foram realizados. As crianças foram agrupadas de acordo com a gravidade do TF GL (9 crianças), GM (10 crianças) e GL (10 crianças) e faixa-etária GL1(3), GL2(3), GL3(3), GM1(3), GM2(6), GM3(1), GG1(4), GG2(3), GG3 (3). No estudo 1 foi realizada a descrição das características fonológicas das crianças. No estudo 2 foi realizada a descrição e a caracterização dos PEATE e PEALL das crianças com TF. RESULTADOS: O estudo 1 mostrou que o sexo masculino foi o que predominou na amostra, sendo que o valor médio do índice PCC-R foi maior que o do PCC. A média dos diferentes tipos de processos fonológicos empregados pelas crianças foi 4,1 e o processo fonológico de maior ocorrência foi o SEC. As crianças com TF não apresentaram dificuldade na prova de discriminação auditiva, independentemente da idade e da gravidade. A habilidade metafonológica de rima foi a que as crianças demonstraram maior dificuldade. Em média as crianças tiveram cinco sons ausentes sendo três estimuláveis. No estudo 2 os resultados indicaram que no PEATE-fala não houve interação entre a amplitude do complexo V-A e a gravidade do TF. Em contrapartida encontrou que as crianças mais velhas e com TF mais grave apresentaram maior latência da onda V. Não foi encontrada interferência da faixa-etária na latência das ondas A, C, D, E, F e O. No PEATE-click as crianças com TF apresentaram normalidade na latência das ondas I, III e V e interpicos I-III, III-V e I-V. No PEALL-fala as crianças mais velhas e com TF grave tiveram as menores médias de latência da onda P2 e para a onda N2 as crianças mais velhas do Grupo Leve e do Grupo Grave mostraram latências menores para este potencial. Todas as crianças deste estudo atingiram valores normais para a latência de P3. Na análise dos PEALL-click os resultados indicaram que este potencial foi o com mais respostas ausentes. As crianças mais velhas demonstraram as menores latências para a onda P1. CONCLUSÃO: Neste estudo as crianças com TF mostraram valores dentro da normalidade para os potenciais de curta latência com o estimulo click. Além disso, no geral as crianças com TF mais grave evidenciaram latências aumentadas em todos os potenciais. Conclui-se que o PEATE-fala demostrou ser o potencial que melhor identificou as dificuldades de percepção auditiva de crianças com TF / INTRODUCTION: Speech Sound Disorder (SSD) is a speech disorder of unknown origin in which children are heterogeneous. AIM: To characterize children with SSD, according to phonological ability (Percentage of Consonants Correct (PCC), Percentage of Consonants Correct - Revised (PCC-R), density of phonological processes (PDI), type of phonological processes, number of different types of phonological processes; number of absent sounds), stimulability, speech inconsistency, metaphonological skills, auditory discrimination abilities, Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) and Long Latency Auditory Potentials (LLAP). METHODS: Participants were 29 male and female children with SSD between 5:0 and 7:11 years old, submitted to the ABR and LLAP assessment by different stimuli: speech and click. Two different studies were performed. The children were grouped according to severity of the SSD, Mild Group (9 children), Moderate Group (10 children) and Severe Group (10 children) and, according to age, Mild Group 1 (3), Mild Group 2 (3), Mild Group 3 (3), Moderate Group 1 (3), Moderate Group 2 (6), Moderate Group 3 (1), Severe Group 1 (4), Severe Group 2 (3), Severe Group 3 (3). In study 1 the aim was to describe the phonological characteristics of children with SSD. In study 2, the aim was to describe and to characterize the ABR and LLAP of the children with SSD. RESULTS: Study 1 showed that males predominated, and the mean value of PCC-R index was higher than PCC. The mean of the different types of phonological processes used by the children was 4.1 and the most frequent phonological process was the cluster reduction. Children with SSD had no difficulty in hearing discrimination, regardless age and severity. Rhyme was the metaphonological ability that children demonstrated greater difficulty. Children had an average of five absent sounds and three of them were stimulable. In study 2 results indicated that in ABR-speech there was no interaction between the amplitude of V-A complex and severity of the SSD. In contrast, older children with severe SSD had higher latency of wave V. No age interference was found in latency of wave A, C, D, E, F, and O. In ABR-click the children with SSD presented normality in the latency of waves I, III and V and interpeaks I-III, III-V and I-V. In LLAP- speech, older children with severe SSD had the lowest mean of P2 wave latency and for N2 wave the older children of LG and SG showed lower latencies for the wave N2. All children in this study reached normal values for P3 latency. In the analysis of the LLAP-click the results indicated that this potential was the one with the most absent answers. Older children showed lower latencies for P1 wave. CONCLUSION: In this study children with SSD showed values within normality for the potentials of short latency with the stimulus click. In addition, in general, children with severe SSD showed increased latencies at all potentials. Final conclusion was that ABR-speech was the potential that best identified the difficulties of auditory perception in children with SSD

Introdução: A Fonoaudiologia é uma ciência da área da saúde que busca promover, prevenir, diagnosticar e reabilitar as questões relacionadas à comunicação dos indivíduos. Assim, torna-se importante o desenvolvimento de tecnologias para aprimorar a sua prática - que deve se basear em evidências - e os instrumentos de análise articulatória têm auxiliado no entendimento sobre como a paciente aprende e produz determinados fonemas. O objetivo do estudo foi descrever os tipos de configuração de contorno de língua, por meio da Ultrassonografia aplicada na produção de Fala (USF), nas produções de /s/ e /?/ na fala de adultos, crianças com desenvolvimento típico de fala e linguagem e crianças com Transtorno Fonológico (TF). A utilização da Ultrassonografia como ferramenta para análise articulatória é recente na Fonoaudiologia, mas tem demonstrado importantes contribuições no diagnóstico e intervenção. Delinear o padrão de articulação em adultos falantes do Português Brasileiro, por meio da USF, pode fornecer informações importantes a respeito das variações observadas na produção dos sons de fala, além de possibilitar comparações entre as variações das produções apresentadas por crianças que estão em desenvolvimento e que podem ou não apresentar alterações de fala e linguagem. Dentre as alterações de fala e linguagem mais constantes na clínica fonoaudiológica está o TF, bastante ocorrente na população infantil, porém sem causa definida. O TF tem sido objeto de estudo de muitos profissionais da área, uma vez que apresenta heterogeneidade quanto à gravidade, manifestações e fatores associados. A motivação de estudar as sibilantes /s/ e /?/ decorreu do fato de que as consoantes coronais fricativas /s z ? ?/ são sons de fala com aquisição tardia no desenvolvimento típico e os mais comuns de sofrerem distorções e substituições. Métodos: Participaram do presente estudo 15 adultos entre 18 anos e 11 meses e 28 anos e 5 meses de idade, 13 crianças sem alterações de fala e linguagem, entre 6 anos e 7 anos e 11 meses de idade e sete crianças com TF, com o Processo Fonológico de Frontalização de Palatal (FP), entre 5 anos e 2 meses e 7 anos e 3 meses de idade. Para todos os sujeitos, foram aplicadas e analisadas as provas diagnósticas de Fonologia e, posteriormente, a USF. A coleta das imagens da USF foi realizada em vista Sagital. O contorno da superfície de língua foi traçado individualmente no software AAA para cada uma das cinco produções dos alvos /s/ e /?/ de cada sujeito. Os contornos de língua foram analisados de forma qualitativa e quantitativa, por meio da mensuração de 11 pontos delimitados numa grade radial sobreposta ao contorno de língua na USF. Resultados: Foi possível observar que há, pelo menos, quatro possibilidades de configuração de língua na articulação do /s/ na fala de adultos e crianças com desenvolvimento típico. Para as crianças com TF, foram observadas três dessas configurações. A produção do /?/ não foi tão variada a ponto de serem observadas configurações de contorno de língua distintas, entre os sujeitos. Conclusões: O estudo foi efetivo para descrever os tipos de configuração de contorno de língua, por meio da USF, nas produções do /s/ e /?/, diferenciando a produção desses fonemas na fala de adultos, crianças com desenvolvimento típico e crianças com TF / Introduction: The Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences is a health\' science that aims to promote, prevent, diagnose and rehabilitate the issues related to human communication. Therefore it is important to develop technologies to improve the evidence based practice. Articulatory analysis tools has helped in the understanding on how the patient learns and produces certain phonemes. The aim of this study was to describe the different types of tongue contour based on the ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI) during the production of the sounds /s/ and /?/ in adult speech, typically developing children and children with Speech Sound Disorder (SSD). The use of UTI as a tool for articulation analysis is recent in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences but has been demonstrating to be an important tool in the diagnosis and intervention of SSD. The design of the Brazilian Portuguese-speaking adults articulation\'s pattern by the UTI may provide important information about the modifications observed during the production of speech sounds as it enables comparisons between variations of the productions presented by children who are under development and that may or may not have SSD. SSD is a very common and quite occurring speech disorder in children but has not a definite cause yet. The SSD has been studied by many speech and language pathologists as it is a heterogeneous pathology in terms of severity, manifestations and associated factors. The motivation to study the sibilants /s/ and /?/ was based on the fact that the coronal fricatives consonants /s z ? ?/ are speech sounds with late acquisition in typically developing and also sounds that are frequently distorted or substituted by others. Methods: The study included 15 adults aged between 18 years and 11 months and 28 years and 5 months old, 13 typically developing children without speech and language impairments aged between 6 years old and 7 years and 11 months old and seven children with SSD, with the phonological process of palatal fronting (PF) aged from 5 years and 2 months and 7 years and 3 months old. The tongue contours were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by measuring 11 fans delimited in a radial grid superimposed on the tongue contour at UTI. The diagnostic tests of phonology followed by the UTI analysis were applied to all subjects. Data collection for the UTI analysis was performed in sagittal view. The tongue contour was traced individually for the five productions with the target sounds /s/ and /?/ using the AAA software for analysis. Results: Results demonstrated that there are at least four tongue setting possibilities to produce the sound /s/ in both adults and typically developing children´s speech. Three of these settings were observed for children with SSD. No different tongue settings were observed between groups during the production of the sound /?/. Conclusions: The study was effective to describe the types of tongue contour settings using UTI and also to differentiate the production of the sounds /s/ and /?/ in the speech of adults, typically developing children and children with SSD

The purpose of this study was to compare changes in acoustic and kinematic measures of articulation across soft, comfortable, and loud speech conditions. There were 19 participants, 9 male and 10 female, with age ranging from 20 to 34 with a median age of 25. Each participant had electromagnetic sensors glued to their tongue, jaw, and lips. It was anticipated that the acoustic measures would accurately reflect the kinematic measures of speech as articulation changed across the intensity levels. Vowel space area (VSA) and vowel articulation index (VAI) were computed from the three corner vowels, /α, i, u/. Articulatory-acoustic vowel space (AAVS), a sentence-level acoustic measure, was computed from the continuous formant histories for all voiced segments in a sentence. Kinematic-vowel space area (KVSA), kinematic-vowel articulation index (KVAI), and articulatory-kinematic vowel space (AKVS) were the kinematic equivalents of the acoustic measures, and were newly developed for the present study. Stroke metrics based on the speed history of the lingual movements were also used to reveal average kinematic features of the articulatory gestures in each participant's speech. The data revealed that the isolated acoustic and kinematic measures that used corner vowels (VSA, VAI. KVSA, KVAI) did not change significantly with intensity. The sentence-level continuous measures of articulatory working space (AAVS and AKVS) increased as speech intensity increased. The other sentence-level kinematic metrics also changed significantly with speech intensity, including increases in hull volume, onset speed, peak speed, mean speed, and distance. Stroke duration decreased as speech intensity increased. These findings suggest that measures based on isolated corner vowels are not as reflective as continuous measures of changes in articulatory movement in speech.

What degree of articulation exists in the language arts curricula of schools in the County of San Joaquin, California, in grades one through twelve, and in the particular subjects of reading, oral and written language (or English), literature, spelling, and penmanship (or handwritings)?

The purpose of this final thesis is to find out about Speech Therapy and to design a device which would help with oscillation of human tongue when the sound r is pronounced. To better understand this subject first part of this thesis takes interest in evolution and physiology of human speech. Next the most common articulation disorder Dyslalia is named and methods for treating Dyslalia are described. In practical part the device for Speech Therapy is designed and created. It is based on frequency of human tongue oscillations and it helps to correct difficulties with sound r articulation. This prototype uses electric motor which is controlled by Arduino platform. Its rotational motion is converted to linear through mechanical construction simulating crank mechanism.

This thesis is about design and implementation of application for computing speech parameters on people with Parkinson disease. At the beginning is generaly described Parkinson disease and Hypokinetic dysarthria and how it affects the speech and speech parameters when it occurs. Mainly there are described areas of speech like phonation, prosody, articulation and fluent speech. As a part of next topic this thesis describes specific speech parameters with bigger meaning during diagnosis Parkinson disease and it's progress over the time. There are also mentioned few significant studies dealing with examination of speech of the subjects with diagnoses of Parkinson disease and computing some speech parameters in order to analyze their speech impairments. Part of the thesis is description of implemented standalone application for calculating, exporting and visualizing of speech parameters from selected sound records.

This study investigates the representation of post-apartheid discourses and decolonial messages of The Thinker magazine. It further examines how the magazine in question confronts and negotiates the aftermath of apartheid and coloniality. Particularly, the nature of these discourses and narratives in the context of a new dispensation in South Africa. South Africa experienced the brunt of apartheid and it is currently still grappling with the condition of coloniality. The latter manifests itself into the dimensions of power, knowledge and being. For this reason, a de-linking option from coloniality and apartheid becomes imperative if a new consciousness, liberatory trajectory and social justice are to be attained. Accordingly, the study sought to determine whether African Renaissance could be used as a de-linking tool/option. Taking into account The Thinker‘s messages from the year 2010 to 2016, the study examines whether the magazine promotes a decolonisation narrative. The study sought to provide a contribution to knowledge insofar as discourses of decoloniality and social justice in South Africa are concerned. The study employs a cultural studies lens, in particular, the principle of radical contextualism and Steward Hall’s model of articulation. Cultural studies was used because of its transdisciplinary/interdisciplinary and flexible approach to social phenomenon under study. A mixed-methods approach in the form of a sequential transformative design was employed, however, the qualitative aspect (thematic analysis) was prioritised as dictated by the research question and objectives. It was proven in this study that quantitative elements can be applied successfully within a decolonial inquiry. Hence, the methodological contribution of the study in that regard. The study found that The Thinker highlights the continuation of the atrocities of coloniality and apartheid in post-apartheid South Africa. It is thus suggested by the text that a decolonial trajectory and thinking is needed given the aftermath of apartheid and the condition of coloniality. Furthermore, African Renaissance can be used to reaffirm and repudiate the dominant discourses of coloniality and apartheid if employed authentically by its proponents. However, the text points out the challenges that may hinder the processes of decolonization and liberation such as the self-serving and corrupt leadership that perpetuate the status quo at the expense of the interests of the people. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

This study sought to examine and comprehensively describe transfer students who have earned a two-year technical or occupational Associate in Science (AS) degree at the community college and entered the university to pursue the Bachelor of Science in Applied Science (BSAS). The BSAS degree is a specialized baccalaureate degree program created to allow AS degree holders an opportunity to efficiently transfer into the university affording them full recognition of their two-year degree. This statewide articulated program at the University of South Florida is the first of its kind in the state of Florida. The program only began admitting its first students in the fall term of 2003. Prior to the creation of the BSAS degree, most AS degree holders were not admissible to the university. If they did meet admission requirements based upon competitive freshman admission requirements, only about 15-18 credits of the 60+ credits earned through their AS degree were transferrable. Before the BSAS there were no efficient means for most AS degree holders to pursue higher education beyond their two-year degree. The first five years of this new bachelor's degree program have been very successful. The BSAS program has consistently experienced enrollment growth every year, and the specialized "areas of concentration" have continued to expand offering even greater opportunity for AS degree holders to pursue meaningful baccalaureate studies in support of their academic, professional or personal goals. The AS-to-BS transfer students represent a relatively new student population at the university and this population is steadily growing. The university has historically had little experience with them, and consequently we know little about them. This study was an analysis of AS-BSAS transfer students to determine their characteristics, engagement and success at the university. The study revealed that they are, in fact, a unique student population at the university who are generally disengaged with university life, but performing very well academically. Their average age is 37 years old. They are predominately working adults with family responsibilities. They are conscientious students who are persisting and completing their bachelor's degree in less time than the national average for all transfer students. Overall, the results of this study suggest that we may need to make adjustments to our transfer and articulation policies, our admission practices, and closely examine the broader services of the university to ensure we meet the holistic needs of this new, exclusive, atypical, workforce focused, and growing population of students at the university.

This paper describes a new protocol for assessing the phonological systems of two-year-olds with typical development and older children with delays in vocabulary acquisition. The test (Profiles of Early Expressive Phonological Skills (PEEPS), ) differs from currently available assessments in that age of acquisition, based on lexical norms from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories, served as the primary criterion for creating a word list. Phonetic and semantic properties of the words were also considered in selecting items for the test. Productions of words using the PEEPS protocol have been gathered from a group of children with typical development and another group with cleft lip and/or palate. By 24 months of age, the children with typical development produced more than 90% of the target words and the children with atypical development produced 73% of the words. Regarding administration, the time needed for administering the protocol decreased with age.