Paralinguistic events are useful indicators of the affective state of a speaker. These cues, in children's speech, are used to form social bonds with their caregivers. They have also been found to be useful in the very early detection of developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children's speech. Prior work on children's speech has focused on the use of a limited number of subjects which don't have sufficient diversity in the type of vocalizations that are produced. Also, the features that are necessary to understand the production of paralinguistic events is not fully understood. To account for the lack of an off-the-shelf solution to detect instances of laughter and crying in children's speech, the focus of the thesis is to investigate and develop signal processing algorithms to extract acoustic features and use machine learning algorithms on various corpora. Results obtained using baseline spectral and prosodic features indicate the ability of the combination of spectral, prosodic, and dysphonation-related features that are needed to detect laughter and whining in toddlers' speech with different age groups and recording environments. The use of long-term features were found to be useful to capture the periodic properties of laughter in adults' and children's speech and detected instances of laughter to a high degree of accuracy. Finally, the thesis focuses on the use of multi-modal information using acoustic features and computer vision-based smile-related features to detect instances of laughter and to reduce the instances of false positives in adults' and children's speech. The fusion of the features resulted in an improvement of the accuracy and recall rates than when using either of the two modalities on their own.

This thesis explores the potential of typography as a significant visual element in the narration of a short film. The project specifically considers the visual and paralinguistic nature of typography and its discourse with moving image. A creative consideration of these issues is then synthesized into the short film, the window.

This thesis explores the potential of typography as a significant visual element in the narration of a short film. The project specifically considers the visual and paralinguistic nature of typography and its discourse with moving image. A creative consideration of these issues is then synthesized into the short film, the window.

It is widely accepted in our society that people’s paralinguistic (i.e., non-semantic characteristics of the voice) and nonverbal (i.e., posture, gestures, and facial expressions) behaviours play an important role in conveying information about their personality traits. Two particularly relevant traits include one’s preferred levels of dominance and affiliation, which are the two major axes of the interpersonal circumplex. The current study investigates how dominance and affiliation are conveyed through paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviour using a lens model framework. Two major issues addressed by this framework include: 1) How do observers make inferences about people’s dominance and affiliation using paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours and 2) How do people’s trait dominance and affiliation relate to these behavioural cues? To examine these two questions, we collected data from 114 opposite-sex dyads who worked together to complete a relatively unstructured collaborative task. The videotaped interactions were coded for specific paralinguistic (e.g., pitch, volume, resonance) and nonverbal (e.g., hand gestures, trunk posture, facial expressions) behaviours, in addition to coding more global displays of dominance and affiliation. Participants also completed several measures of trait dominance and affiliation, which tapped both their relatively conscious (i.e., explicit) and their relatively unconscious (i.e., implicit) levels of these traits. Our findings suggest that observers used mainly paralinguistic behaviour to infer dominance and mainly nonverbal behaviour to infer affiliation. In comparison to observers’ perceptions, there were fewer significant relations between individuals’ self-reported trait dominance and affiliation and the nonverbal and paralinguistic behaviours they expressed during the interaction, suggesting that people may have limited conscious awareness of how these behaviours convey information about their trait dominance and affiliation. In line with this idea, several behaviours showed relations to implicit measures of trait dominance and affiliation. We also conducted factor analyses of the measured paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours, to examine whether or not these behaviours might co-occur as subsets or factors. We found that paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours can be captured by overarching factors which relate meaningfully to measures of dominance and affiliation. Finally, we demonstrated that dyad members’ paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours become interdependent as they interact with one another.

It is widely accepted in our society that people’s paralinguistic (i.e., non-semantic characteristics of the voice) and nonverbal (i.e., posture, gestures, and facial expressions) behaviours play an important role in conveying information about their personality traits. Two particularly relevant traits include one’s preferred levels of dominance and affiliation, which are the two major axes of the interpersonal circumplex. The current study investigates how dominance and affiliation are conveyed through paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviour using a lens model framework. Two major issues addressed by this framework include: 1) How do observers make inferences about people’s dominance and affiliation using paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours and 2) How do people’s trait dominance and affiliation relate to these behavioural cues? To examine these two questions, we collected data from 114 opposite-sex dyads who worked together to complete a relatively unstructured collaborative task. The videotaped interactions were coded for specific paralinguistic (e.g., pitch, volume, resonance) and nonverbal (e.g., hand gestures, trunk posture, facial expressions) behaviours, in addition to coding more global displays of dominance and affiliation. Participants also completed several measures of trait dominance and affiliation, which tapped both their relatively conscious (i.e., explicit) and their relatively unconscious (i.e., implicit) levels of these traits. Our findings suggest that observers used mainly paralinguistic behaviour to infer dominance and mainly nonverbal behaviour to infer affiliation. In comparison to observers’ perceptions, there were fewer significant relations between individuals’ self-reported trait dominance and affiliation and the nonverbal and paralinguistic behaviours they expressed during the interaction, suggesting that people may have limited conscious awareness of how these behaviours convey information about their trait dominance and affiliation. In line with this idea, several behaviours showed relations to implicit measures of trait dominance and affiliation. We also conducted factor analyses of the measured paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours, to examine whether or not these behaviours might co-occur as subsets or factors. We found that paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours can be captured by overarching factors which relate meaningfully to measures of dominance and affiliation. Finally, we demonstrated that dyad members’ paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviours become interdependent as they interact with one another.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of grown-up blind people’s non-verbal communication, including body expressions and paralinguistic (voice) expressions. More specifically, the thesis includes the following three studies: Blind people’s different forms of body expressions, blind people’s non-verbal conversation regulation and blind people’s experience of their own non-verbal expressions. The focus has been on the blind participants’ competence and on their subjective perspectives. I have also compared congenitally and adventitiously blind in all of the studies. The approach is mainly phenomenological and the qualitative empirical phenomenological psychological method is the primary methodological source of inspiration. Fourteen blind persons (and also some sigthed persons) participated. They have no other obvious disability than the blindness and their ages vary between 18 and 54. Data in the first two studies consisted of video recordings and data in the last study consisted of interviews. The overall results can be summarized in the following three points: 1. There are (almost) only similarities between the congenitally blind and adventitiously blind persons concerning their paralinguistic expressions. 2. There are mainly similarities between the two groups with respect to the occurrences of different body expressive forms. 3. There are also some differences between the groups. For example, the congenitally blind persons seem to have a limited ability to use the body in an abstract and symbolic way and they often mentioned that they have been told that their body expressions deviate from sighted people’s norms. But the persons in both groups also struggle to see themselves as unique persons who express themselves on the basis of their conditions and their previous experiences.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of grown-up blind people’s non-verbal communication, including body expressions and paralinguistic (voice) expressions. More specifically, the thesis includes the following three studies: Blind people’s different forms of body expressions, blind people’s non-verbal conversation regulation and blind people’s experience of their own non-verbal expressions. The focus has been on the blind participants’ competence and on their subjective perspectives. I have also compared congenitally and adventitiously blind in all of the studies. The approach is mainly phenomenological and the qualitative empirical phenomenological psychological method is the primary methodological source of inspiration. Fourteen blind persons (and also some sigthed persons) participated. They have no other obvious disability than the blindness and their ages vary between 18 and 54. Data in the first two studies consisted of video recordings and data in the last study consisted of interviews. The overall results can be summarized in the following three points: 1. There are (almost) only similarities between the congenitally blind and adventitiously blind persons concerning their paralinguistic expressions. 2. There are mainly similarities between the two groups with respect to the occurrences of different body expressive forms. 3. There are also some differences between the groups. For example, the congenitally blind persons seem to have a limited ability to use the body in an abstract and symbolic way and they often mentioned that they have been told that their body expressions deviate from sighted people’s norms. But the persons in both groups also struggle to see themselves as unique persons who express themselves on the basis of their conditions and their previous experiences.

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[pt] Investigações, em diferentes línguas, demonstram que crianças em aquisição apresentam dificuldades no estabelecimento de correferência com pronomes dêiticos, refletindo possível atraso na aquisição de princípios da pragmática que regulam referência pronominal (Chien e Wexler, 1990, 2009; Grolla, 2005). Pesquisas recentes sugerem que gestos paralinguísticos (ie., gesto co-fala) podem funcionar como reforço pragmático, realçando aspectos implícitos do significado (Schlenker, 2018). Na presente pesquisa, investiga-se se, na aquisição do português brasileiro, gestos co-fala aliviam dificuldades de correferência pronominal, com violação de Principio B. Foram realizados dois estudos experimentais de julgamento de valor de verdade com crianças em processo de aquisição (grupo alvo – 10 participantes) e adultos(grupo controle – 10 participantes). Os estímulos experimentais foram compostos por sentenças coordenadas, apresentadas oralmente, com pronome (nulo ou pleno) na posição de objeto da segunda oração e dois possíveis antecedentes: um na posição de sujeito da segunda oração (antecedente local) e outro na posição de objeto da primeira oração (antecedente não-local). No primeiro experimento, não houve acoplagem de gesto, tanto pronomes quanto antecedentes foram apresentados sem acompanhamento de gesto. No segundo experimento, manipulou-se acoplagem de gesto, os pronomes e possíveis antecedentes foram acompanhados de apontamento manual para localização-espacial do referente (loci-espacial). Os resultados obtidos indicam que: (a) em contextos estruturais envolvendo pronome nulo, não há diferença significativa entre os grupos alvo e controle, ambos rejeitam correfêrencia local – sem violação do Princípio B; (b) em contextos estruturais envolvendo pronome pleno, há diferença significativa entre os grupos alvo e controle, com maior aceitação de correfêrencia local no grupo alvo - violação do Princípio B. No entanto, no segundo experimento, não houve diferença significativa entre os dois grupos. Concluímos, portanto, que, durante a aquisição, o gesto co-fala de loci-espacial é computado durante a construção da correferência pronominal, neutralizando leitura de correferência com antecedente local. / [en] Researches in different languages show that children in acquisition have difficulties in establishing coreference with deictic pronouns, reflecting a possible delay in the acquisition of pragmatic principles that constraint pronominal reference (Chien and Wexler, 1990, 2009; Grolla, 2006). Recent research suggests that co-speech gestures can function as pragmatic reinforcement, reinforcing implicit aspects of meaning (Schlenker, 2018). In the present research, it is investigated whether, in the acquisition of Brazilian Portuguese, these gestures alleviate difficulties of pronominal coreference, violation of Principle B. Two experimental studies, truth value judgment tasks, were carried out with children (target group – 10 participants) and adults (control group – 10 participants). In both experiments, the experimental stimuli were composed of coordinated sentences, presented orally, with the target pronoun (null or full) in the second clause object position and two possible antecedents: one in the second clause subject position (local antecedent) and the other in the first clause object position (non-local antecedent). In the first experiment, there was no co-speech gesture, both pronouns and antecedents were presented orally only. In the second experiment, co-speech gestures (manual pointing for spatial location of the referent (spatial-loci) were added to pronouns and possible antecedents were accompanie. Obtained results indicate that: (a) in structural contexts involving null pronouns, there is no significant difference between target and control groups, both reject local coreference – without violating Principle B; (b) in structural contexts involving full pronouns, there was a significant difference between the target and control groups, with greater acceptance of local coreference in the target group - violation of Principle B. However, in the second experiment, there was no significant difference between the two groups. We conclude, therefore, that, during acquisition, the co-speech gestures of spatial-loci is computed in pronominal coreference, neutralizing readings with coreference with local antecedents.

Several studies have examined the use of emoji and emoticons in computer mediated communication among peers and colleges but there is yet academic research on the impact of businesses using these paralinguistic cues when responding to online consumer reviews. This research is examining the influence these paralinguistic cues have on the consumers perception of the companies quality of the response to an online consumer review, brand relationship, purchase intent. Using an online survey, participants are asked to answer general questions about the brand, the quality of the response, brand relationship, and purchase intent after seeing a random condition of both a low and high involvement product. Result support previous eWOM research as valence of the review had the largest impact on the consumers perception of the companies quality of the response to an online consumer review, brand relationship, purchase intent with an interesting finding where in most cases the addition of an emoji in positive valence message attributes to the strongest findings. With the increase in emoji usage in marketing and advertising, it is important that business are utilizing these tools in effective means otherwise the use of these paralinguistic cues could negatively impact the companies quality of the response to an online consumer review, brand relationship, purchase intent.