Speech recognition has only recently been applied to Cantonese. Considerable effort, however, has been spent in recognizing Mandarin, the standard dialect of Chinese. Prior to this thesis, the only published work on monosyllabic Cantonese tone recognition is from Tan Lee et al. (1993,1995). This thesis is the first of its kind in that it explores memory-based learning as a viable approach for Cantonese tone recognition. The memory-based learning algorithm employed in this thesis outperforms the highly respected and widely used neural network approach. Various numbers of tones and features are modeled to find the best method for feature selection and extraction. To further optimize this approach, experiments are performed to isolate the best feature weighting method, best class voting weights method, and the best number of k-values to implement. A detailed error analysis is also reported. This thesis will prove valuable as a future reference for memory-based learning in application to more complex tasks such as continuous speech tone recognition.

Punjabi, a language primarily spoken throughout Pakistan and in the northern Indian state of Punjab, is one of a few closely related Indo-Aryan languages, including Lahnda and Western Pahari, or Dogri-Kangri, which are counted among the world's tone languages, despite having no genetic link to other recognized tone languages. Few grammars have been published for Punjabi, and of those available, the grammars either fail to discuss the existence of lexical tone or note tone only in passing, and these disagree among themselves on even the number of tones. Unfortunately, those grammars which do make note of the presence of lexical tone often fail to discuss the tone patterns or tonemics of Punjabi in a linguistically meaningful way or provide substantial evidentiary support for their own claims regarding tone pattern. This may be due to the fact that, unlike Chinese, which has a contrastive pitch on each syllable, Punjabi "does not lean heavily on pitch phonemes" (Malik, 1995). Still, they are widely evident in the spoken language and are in need of descriptive research supported by significant empirical data. It is the conclusion of this research that the high and low tones found in the Panjabi language can be directly correlated to the classic Gurmukhi orthography. The script features historically aspirated and unaspirated variations of most consonants, which, in certain phonemic environments, are explicit indicators of the tonal qualities found in the spoken language.

The dynamics of wrist rotations are dominated by joint stiffness, which the neuromuscular system must account and compensate for when controlling wrist movements. Because wrist stiffness is anisotropic, movements in some directions require less torque than movements in others, creating opportunities to follow "paths of least resistance." Forearm pronation-supination (PS) can combine with wrist flexion-extension (FE) and radial-ulnar deviation (RUD) to allow the wrist to rotate in directions of least stiffness. Evaluating this hypothesis, and understanding the control of combined wrist and forearm rotations in general, requires a knowledge of the stiffness (the dominant mechanical impedance) encountered during combined wrist and forearm rotations. While wrist and forearm stiffness have been measured in isolation, there are no measurements of coupled wrist and the forearm stiffness. This study characterizes the passive stiffness of the wrist and forearm in combinations of FE, RUD, and PS. Using a wrist and forearm robot, we measured coupled wrist and forearm stiffness for 15° movements from neutral position in 10 young, healthy subjects. We found the stiffness in PS to be significantly smaller than the stiffness in RUD, but similar in magnitude to the stiffness in FE, indicating that the torque required to overcome stiffness in combinations of PS and FE is significantly smaller than the torque required to overcome stiffness in combinations of FE and RUD (assuming equal displacements). The coupled stiffness measured here will enable future studies to determine optimal paths and to compare these optimal paths to observed movements involving wrist and forearm rotations.

This study examined the development of attachment as it relates to co-regulation and vagal tone over the second half of the first year of life. Links to infants' attachment and developmental status were also examined. Symmetrical and unilateral co-regulated patterns of interactions at 6 months demonstrated significant linkages with attachment. Developmental status did not show direct linkages with attachment. Direct links between vagal tone and attachment were also not identified. Correlations between co-regulation and vagal tone at the 6 month time point were identified. Findings suggest an important role of co-regulation as it relates to attachment development. Future studies may benefit from evaluating the role of co-regulation as a mediating variable between vagal tone and attachment development.

People maintain histories through memory filtered through language to create fictions. My work involves the recording and incorporation of stories into audio and sculptural and installation, to reveal the structures that make up the fictions we exist within. For this exhibition, it is through a combination of disparate objects: fingers, furniture, potatoes and peach pits, stripped of their colors and humming with life that I am investigating my own fictions and their undeniable relations with others.

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