This study presents synthetic embodied conversational agents, and how they can be used to explore the persuasive potential of real embodied conversational agents. Utilizing a novel Wizard-of-Oz style approach and a direct measure of behavior change we explore whether ‘ideal’ embodied conversational agents have a similar persuasive impact as real people, and demonstrate the importance of visuall...

We propose the application of ubiquitous sensor technology to capturing and analyzing the dynamics of multi-party human-to-human conversational interactions. Based on a model of conversational participation structure, we present an analysis of conversational interactions in the open interaction space of a poster presentation session. We argue that the patterns of transition of the conversationa...

Early life environmental manipulations have been shown to affect hippocampal-dependent learning, hippocampal volume and cerebral lateralization. In this study, we investigated the effects of neonatal stimulation on hippocampal volumetric asymmetry. Long-Evans hooded rats were exposed to a novel non-home environment 3 min daily for the first 3 weeks of life. Histological measures of the left and...

Currently, applications that focus on providing conversations with virtual humans require extensive work to create robust conversational models. We present a new approach called Human-centered Distributed Conversational Modeling. Using this approach, users create conversational models in a distributed manner. To do this, end-users interact with virtual humans to provide new stimuli (questions a...

We assessed the effects of video modeling on acquisition and generalization of conversational skills among autistic children. Three autistic boys observed videotaped conversations consisting of two people discussing specific toys. When criterion for learning was met, generalization of conversational skills was assessed with untrained topics of conversation; new stimuli (toys); unfamiliar person...

Speech telecommunication systems are most frequently used in conversational situations. In this regard, assessing the quality of conversational speech is the fundamental requirement for system developers to classify and evaluate their systems. However, it is not enough to provide information about the overall quality, but also to point out sources for possible quality-losses. We present a follo...