Speech technology for automatic teller machines: an investigation of user attitude and performance

Despite the success and widespread use of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), a significant proportion of bank customers can not or will not use them, or experience difficulties in their interactions. Speech technology has been suggested as a means by which non-users might be encouraged to use ATMs, while simultaneously improving usability for all. The potential advantages of speech interfaces include hands-free and eyes-free use for physically- and visuallyimpaired users, and improved ease and speed of use through increased ‘naturalness’ of the interaction. This study investigated user attitudes to the concepts of a speech-based ATM, via large-scale survey and a series of focus groups. Objective performance was also considered in user trials with a prototype speech-driven ATM. The idea of using speech for ATM transactions led to a number of concerns. Privacy (the concern over one's personal financial details being overheard) and security (the fear of potential attackers hearing the user withdraw cash) were the major reasons given. The user trials confirmed that possible solutions, such as the adoption of a hood over the ATM or the use of a telephone handset as the speech input/output device, were ineffective. Groups of impaired users, particularly visually-impaired subjects, were more positive about the concept of speech, citing various difficulties with current visual-manual interactions. Most non-users, however, would not be encouraged to use ATMs with the addition of speech. The paper discusses these and other issues relating to the likely success of using speech for ATM applications.     

广东省电网建设与经济发展关系实证研究

以广东省1993--2011年相关时间序列数据为基础,建立了反映电网建设水平与社会经济发展关系的向量自回归（VAR）模型,在VAR模型的基础上,分析了广东省电网建设指标与社会经济发展指标的格兰杰因果关系,运用脉冲响应函数和方差分解方法分析了电网建设与社会经济发展之间的动态影响。研究结果表明,电网建设是经济增长的基础条件之一,在电网建设与经济增长的相互作用中,电网建设对经济增长的促进作用更为显著。     

有机硅／三元乙丙橡胶共混研究

本文对有机硅／三元乙丙橡胶共混的相容性和共硫化进行了研究，探讨了共混比例、填料、助剂、工艺条件等因素对共混胶力学性能的影响。结果表明，提高共混胶的相容性和共硫化性，是获得性能优异产品的关键，从而使这一新型材料在新的领域广泛应用。     

FBG传感器在水下结构工程中的应用

近年来,光纤光栅传感技术在我国发展很快,已经在桥梁、土建等多个领域中得到了应用,但在水工领域的应用还很少.本文结合白鹤梁工程实例,探索该项技术在这一领域应用的可行性.开展的光纤光栅应变、温度传感器在水下工程领域中较大规模的应用研究结果表明：FBG具有很好的防水性能,测试精度高,长期稳定性好,信号传输距离远,为水下结构的长期监测提供了一种可靠有效的手段.     

体制转型与企业文化建设的战略思考

企业文化是企业核心竞争力之所在，处于体制转型过程中的国有企业，一方面要建立合乎市场经济要求的现代企业制度，另一方面要实现企业文化的延续与创新。论述了要在全面把握改革前和改革过渡时期国企的企业文化特征的基础上，正确处理企业文化建设的几个基本关系。     

Coinage Metals in the Nanometer Length Scale

Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC)-stabilized gold organosol in toluene has been prepared by using a two-phase (water-toluene) extraction of AuCl₄^- followed by its reduction with sodium borohydride in the presence of the surfactant, CPC. The surfactant-stabilized gold nanoparticles were exploited to examine their optical properties when exposed to various solvent systems by measuring the changes in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectrum.     

Obtaining mode mixity for a bimaterial interface crack using the virtual crack closure technique

We review, unify and extend work pertaining to evaluating mode mixity of interfacial fracture utilizing the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT). From the VCCT, components of the strain energy release rate (SERR) are obtained using the forces and displacements near the crack tip corresponding to the opening and sliding contributions. Unfortunately, these components depend on the crack extension size, Δ, used in the VCCT. It follows that a mode mixity based upon these components also will depend on the crack extension size. However, the components of the strain energy release rate can be used for determining the complex stress intensity factors (SIFs) and the associated mode mixity. In this study, we show that several—seemingly different—suggested methods presented in the literature used to obtain mode mixity based on the stress intensity factors are indeed identical. We also present an alternative, simpler quadratic equation to this end. Moreover, a Δ-independent strain energy release based mode mixity can be defined by introducing a “normalizing length parameter.” We show that when the reference length (used for the SIF-based mode mixity) and the normalizing length (used for Δ-independent SERR-based mode mixity) are equal, the two mode mixities are only shifted by a phase angle, depending on the bimaterial parameter ε.     

美国黑人小说的主题嬗变

文章从分析美国黑人文学各个阶段的主要小说入手，以时间为序，结合美国的历史背景，揭示美国黑人小说主题由血泪史到抗议再到自省的嬗变过程，并兼及其艺术手法由现实主义到现代主义的转变。     

关于计算机类专科学生毕业设计阶段产学研模式的思考

计算机类专科学生毕业设计的传统教学模式，往往实践性不强，学生动手能力得不到较大提高。而产学研教学模式结合实际课题展开，既提高学生兴趣，又较大地提高了毕业设计的质量。同时这种产学研教学模式具有较强的开放性，应在学校的教学工作中配套完整的综合管理措施，才会真正达到好的效果。