• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.59-73
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• 2012

This study attempts to investigate the contribution of prosody to the foreign accent in Chinese speakers' English production by examining the synthesized speech of crossing native and non-native talkers' prosody and segments. For the stimuli of the foreign accent ratings, we transplanted gender-matched native speakers' prosody onto non-native talkers' segments and vice versa, utilizing the TD-PSOLA algorithm. Eight English native listeners participated in judging foreign accent and comprehensibility of the transplanted stimuli. Results showed that the synthesized stimuli were perceived as stronger foreign accent regardless of speakers' proficiency when English speakers' prosody was crossed with Chinese speakers' segments. This suggests that segments contribute more than prosody to native listeners' evaluation of foreign accent. When transplanted with English speakers' segments, Chinese speakers' prosody showed a difference in duration rather than pitch between high and low proficiency such that stronger foreign accent was detected when low proficient Chinese speakers' duration was crossed with English speakers' segments. This indicated that prosody, more specifically duration, plays a role though the prosodic role is not overall as significant as segments. According to the post acoustic analysis, the temporal features contributing to making the duration parameter prominent as opposed to pitch were found out to be speaking rate, pause duration and pause frequency. Finally, foreign accent and comprehensibility showed no significant correlation such that native listeners had no difficulty listening to highly foreign accented speech.

• 한국HCI학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.02a
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• pp.618-622
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• 2008

In this paper, we suggest new music composition algorithm based on fractal theory. User can define and control fractal shape by setting an initial state and production rules in L-System. We generate an asymmetric fractal tree based on L-System and probability. Then a music is generated by the fractal tree image using sonification techniques. We introduce two composition algorithm using the fractal tree. First, monophonic music can be generated by mapping x and y axis to velocity and pitch, respectively Second, harmonic music also can be generated by mapping x and y axis to time and pitch, respectively Using our composition algorithm, user can easily generate a music which has repeated pattern created by recursive feature of fractal, and a music which has structure similar to fractal tree image.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2010

Metal bipolar plate applied to Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell is getting most attractive due to their good feasibility of mass production and low cost. But it is one of the immediate causes of performance decline because it is difficult to reduce channel pitch of metal bipolar plate. In this study, mesh was inserted in between bipolar plate and GDL to obtain uniform contact pressure without reducing channel pitch. The section measuring and performance test were carried out to confirm the mesh structure distributes contact pressure equally in reacting area. The performance of 3 type mesh structures developed in this study were higher than the normal cell at all over the current range. Especially, it showed that the mesh cell performance was increased and pressure drop was decreased with diminishing mesh gap size. The Mesh structure was more sensitive to humidification and contact pressure change than the normal cell.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.319-338
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• 2003

The aim of this paper is to examine the sentence final tonal patterns of English wh-questions through phonetic experiments, based on Intonational Phonology, and to explain the meaning of the final phrase tones of English wh-questions. Pierrehumbert and Hirschberg (1990) suggested that it is pitch accents rather than boundary tones which play a crucial role in the meaning of a sentence, and that most of the general questions have H-H% tonal patterns in the sentence final. However, they could not explain why wh-questions had final falling tonal patterns (L-L%). While Bartels (1999) suggested that L phrase tone has the meaning of 'ASSERTION' and it could be applied to the explanation of the meaning of wh-questions' final tonal patterns. However, her suggestions are only theoretical explanation without any experimental support. In this paper, based on Bartels (1999), the data was classified into the following three classes: 1) echo wh-questions, 2) reference questions, and 3) common wh-questions. Using this data, a production test by three English native speakers was conducted. The results show that reference questions and common wh-questions have L phrase tones in the sentence final at a high rate, and echo wh-questions have H phrase tones in the sentence final at a high rate.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.430-431
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• 1996

Among the scholars of second language (L2) acquisition who have used prosodic considerations in syntactic analyses, pausing and intonation contours have been used to define utterances in the speech of second language learners (e.g., Sato, 1990). In recent research on conversational analysis, it has been found that lexically marked causal clause combining in the discourse of native speakers can be distinguished as "intonational subordination" and "intonational coordination(Couper-Kuhlen, Elizabeth, forthcoming.)". This study uses Pienemann's Processability Theory (1995) for an analysis of the speech of native speakers of Japanese (L1) learning English. In order to accurately assess the psycholinguistic stages of syntactic development, it is shown that pitch, loudness, and timing must all be considered together with the syntactic analysis of interlanguage speech production. Twelve Japanese subjects participated in eight fifteen minute interviews, ninety-six dyads. The speech analyzed in this report is limited to the twelve subjects interacting with two different non-native speaker interviews for a total of twenty-four dyads. Within each of the interviews, four different tasks are analyzed to determine the stage of acquisition of English for each subject. Initially the speech is segmented according to intonation contour arid pauses. It is then classified accoding to specific syntactic units and further analysed for pitch, loudness and timing. Results indicate that the speech must be first claasified prosodic ally and lexically, prior to beginning syntactic analysis. This analysis stinguishes three interlanguage lexical categories: discourse markers, coordinator $s_ordinators, and transfer from Japanese. After these lexical categories have been determined, the psycholinguistic stages of syntactic development can be more accurately assessed.d.

• Carbon letters
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.254-259
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• 2012

Nanoporous non-woven carbon fibers for a gas sensor were prepared from a pitch/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) mixed solution through an electrospinning process and their gas-sensing properties were investigated. In order to create nanoscale pores, magnesium oxide (MgO) powders were added as a pore-forming agent during the mixing of these carbon precursors. The prepared nanoporous carbon fibers derived from the MgO pore-forming agent were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), $N_2$-adsorption isotherms, and a gas-sensing analysis. The SEM images showed that the MgO powders affected the viscosity of the pitch/PAN solution, which led to the production of beaded fibers. The specific surface area of carbon fibers increased from 2.0 to $763.2m^2/g$ when using this method. The template method therefore improved the porous structure, which allows for more efficient gas adsorption. The sensing ability and the response time for the NO gas adsorption were improved by the increased surface area and micropore fraction. In conclusion, the carbon fibers with high micropore fractions created through the use of MgO as a pore-forming agent exhibited improved NO gas sensitivity.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.7-17
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• 1991

The feasibility of treating three softwood(Japanese larch pitch pine, and Korean pine) thinned logs by double-diffusion treatment processes was investigated. Some posts were incised before immersion, and others were imersed in hot copper sulfate solution. Comparison among species indicated that. in general, pitch pine was most treatable and Japanese larch least treatable. For all three species, almost all treatment schedules gave consistently good penetration and high net retention, but very steep gradient of preservative distribution. As expected, the treatability was increased by the extension of immersion time, increased concentration of treating solution, incising. and heating of the first solution. Of the variables tested, it appears that heating of the first solution is the most important. From the data in this paper, it may be concluded that, if the first solution is not heated, the best schedule is #3. If the first solution is healed. it appears the best schedules are #10 or #11. Since heating of the first solution improves the treatability. schedules # 10 or :#11 are recommended if the cost of heating might be justified. The data presented in this paper indicate that double-diffusion treatment processes seem to offer a promise as a comparatively effective and easy-operating method of treating thinned logs for the small-scale production of treated stock.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 1999.11b
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• pp.115-119
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• 1999

During mechanical pulp production and blcaching wood components, such as extractives, carbohydrates and lignin are dissolved and dispersed into the process waters. These components are called dissolved and colloidal substances(DCS). DCS can accumulate during water circulation and can in turn affect paper machine runnability and also the strength and optical properties of the paper. In this work DCS fraction origination from TMP process were treated with enzymes acting on triglycerides. glucomannans, and lignin and the effect of enzymatic treatments on the water composition as well as sheet properies were evaluated. Lipases were found to modify the chemical structure of the extractives resulting in more hydrophilic fibre surface and subsequent improvement in the sheet strength properties. Mannanase treatment, on the other hand, destabilized pitch. As a result, aggregation of pitch to the fibres was observed which in turn resulted in impaired strength properties. Laccase could effectively polymerize lignans and the reaction products seemed to be sorbed onto the fibres.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.123-133
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• 1986

Black pine, Pinus thumbergii, stands in southwestern Korea were investigated. The black pine forest with 90 percent or more in the relative basal area (black pine basal area/whole pine basal area, RBA) was found in the coastal area. However, from the coastal area to the inland. RBA of the pine was decreased because the competition with red pine (P. densiflora) and/or pitch pine (P. rigida). In 25 year-old plants at the coastal areas, the wood volume of black pine is twofold or more than that of red pine, fourfold or more than that of pitch pine. The optimum rotation period for the maximum yield of black pine is estimated to take 35 years, based on the site index calculated. The optimal temperature for the pine plantation in Korean peninula should be the area in over 105。C.month in warmth index. And the soil conditions with 50% of RBA or over were 0.025%~0.151% of soil salinity, 3~6% of organic matter content, pH value 4.50~5.04, 8.5~11.0 me/100g of C.E.C..

• Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.141-152
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• 2005

This paper shows the tonal patterns of English conjunctive utterances produced by Korean speakers of English, presenting that Korean speakers realize either the H - phrase tone or the H% boundary tone at the phrase-final part of the conjunctive utterances. Based on Pierrehumbert & Hirschberg's (1990) claim that either H- or H% tone indicates that a phrase is related to the following one, Korean speakers seem to produce the satisfactory patterns of edge tones in conjunctive sentences. In the experiment, we made up conjunctive sentences including both coordinate conjunctions such as and, but, or, and so and subordinate conjunctions like if, when and though. We varied the stimuli according to the existence of a comma and the lengths of connecting words and phrases. We also divided the subjects into two levels of English proficiency based on their English written test scores to see if Korean speakers' performance ability of edge tones is related with their general competence of English. Results show that Korean speakers produced 84% of the H- phrase tone in intermediate phrases and H-L% and L-H% boundary tones in intonational phrases. Also, coordinate and subordinate conjunctions show little difference in their tonal contours, and the existence of a comma or the lengths of connecting words and phrases do not affect Korean speakers' production of the H- phrasal tone and the H% boundary tone. This may suggest that pitch accents, rather than edge tones, should be put more focus on in teaching English intonation in Korea as much work has already shown that Korean speakers have serious problem with producing pitch accents in speaking English.