Swedish Kulning (SweKul)
What’s so special about kulning – the singing technique in traditional Swedish cattle calls?

 

Dates: Monday, 21 August, 14:30–16:30
Location: Hall B3, Stockholm University

Names and affiliation of organizers:

• Anita McAllister, Division of Speech and Language pathology, CLINTEC, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
• Robert Eklund, Department of Culture and Communication, Linköping University, Sweden
• Anne-Maria Laukkanen, Speech and Voice Research Laboratory, School of Education, University of Tampere, Finland
• Ahmed Geneid, Department of Otolaryngology and Phoniatrics – Head and Neck Surgery,
  Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland
• Fanny Pehrson, Kulning singer
• Kajsa Dahlström, Kulning singer

 

Kulning is a special singing technique traditionally used in parts of Sweden and Norway to call free gracing cattle or goats to the homestead for milking. The technique has developed to be heard over a large distance and has been reported to carry over 5 to 6 kilometers. The session will focus on different aspects of the singing technique of kulning – which is traditionally taught by imitation, rather than formal instruction. The session will deal with amplitude/loudness and associated sound propagation aspects and describe and discuss glottal characteristics and vocal tract configuration. Data from videoendoscopy, electroglottography (EGG), high-speed video of the larynx and even from MRI studies, which will be performed during winter 2016/2017, will be presented at the workshop. The session will also include live demonstrations by two experienced kulning singers and will provide an interactive session where participants will be given the possibility to try kulning themselves. Weather allowing, the session will begin with an ecologically valid demonstration in the forest, a mere ten minute walk from the university.

Speaker Comparison for Forensic and Investigative Applications III

 

Dates: Wednesday August 23, 13:30-15:30

Location: Hall B3 – Stockholm University

Names and affiliation of organizers:

• Jean-François Bonastre, LIA, University of Avignon, France
• Joseph P. Campbell, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, USA
• Anders Eriksson, Stockholm University, Sweden
• Michael Jessen, BKA (Federal Criminal Police Office), Germany
• Reva Schwartz, Parenthetic, LLC, USA

 

The aim of this special event is to have several structured discussions on speaker comparison for forensic and investigative applications, where many international experts will present their views and participate in the free exchange of ideas. In speaker comparison, speech samples are compared by humans and/or machines for use in investigations or in court to address questions that are of interest to the legal system. Speaker comparison is a high-stakes application that can change people’s lives and it demands the best that science has to offer; however, methods, processes, and practices vary widely. These variations are not necessarily for the better and, although recognized, are not generally appreciated and acted upon. Methods, processes, and practices grounded in science are critical for the proper application (and non-application) of speaker comparison to a variety of international investigative and forensic applications. This event follows the successful Interspeech 2015 and 2016 special events of the same name.

Speaker Recognition for the Next Decade

 

Dates: Tuesday, 22 August, 13:30–15:30
Location: Hall B3, Stockholm University

Names and affiliation of organizers:

• Pedro A. Torres-Carrasquillo, Human Language Technology Group, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington MA

Panelists:

• Douglas Reynolds (Academic)
• John Hansen (Academic)
• Kevin Farrell (Industry)
• UPM Spain (Academic/Government Work)
• BUT Czech Republic (Academic/Industry)
• Agnitio (Industry)
• Forensic applications panelist
• Institute for Infocomm Research (Academic/application dev)

 

The panel will present a discussion of the current state of speaker recognition and focus on where to go from here. It will provide the speaker recognition community the opportunity to engage with the broader speech community and discuss current state of affairs along with challenges going forward. The panel will benefit the general community by providing a summary of what is happening and expected to happen in the speaker recognition area and benefit the speaker recognition community by exposing their ideas and receiving an influx of fresh perspectives

The second workshop for Young Female Researchers in Speech Science & Technology (YFRSW)

 

Dates: Sunday, 20 August, 9:00–17:00
Location: Speech , Music and Hearing KTH – Royal Institute of Technology, Lindstedtsvägen 24, Stockholm

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/yfrsw2017/

 

Names and affiliation of organizers:

• Heidi Christensen, University of Sheffield, UK
• Abeer Alwan, University of California, Los Angeles, US
• Kay Berkling, DHBW, Karlsruhe, Germany
• Catia Cucchiarini, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
• Milica Gašić, University of Cambridge, UK
• Julia Hirschberg, Columbia University, New York, US
• Karen Livescu, TTIC, Chicago, US
• Catharine Oertel, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
• Odette Scharenborg, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
• Isabel Trancoso, INESC-ID, Lisbon, Portugal

 

The workshop is the second of its kind, after a successful inaugural event at Interspeech 2016 in San Francisco and is designed to foster interest in research in our field in women at the undergraduate or master level who have not yet committed to getting a PhD in speech science or technology areas, but who have had some research experience in their college and universities via individual or group projects. The workshop will include the following events: a welcome breakfast with introductions; a panel of senior women talking about their own research and experiences as women in the speech community; a panel of senior students who work in the speech area to describe how they became interested in speech research; a poster session for the students to present their own research; a one-on-one coaching session between students and senior women mentor; a networking lunch for students and senior women.