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The purpose of this paper is to design and propose a new interface for hearing‐impaired for the users who can hardly realize the environmental sound.

The authors propose the use of an augmented reality (AR) system with sound source recognition to augment human vision. In this system, sound source and position is detected by using acoustic processing.

The authors confirmed that the source and direction of sound could be effectively recognized, and that AR was implemented, and thus that the user could use this system to recognize and visualize environmental sounds. When there was only a single sound source in the surrounding environment such as at home or when doing some simple work, and especially when a source was near a user, this system provided information on the sound source and visualized the sound source to satisfy the user's need.

The system can recognize the environmental sound in realtime and inform the user of the type of sound by showing a virtual object in the user's sight. Furthermore, the user can find the direction of the sound source by using a microphone array and locate the sound source through the AR marker attached to the object.

The Reflective Middleware for Acoustic Management (ReM-AM), based on the Middleware for Cloud Learning Environments (AmICL), aims to improve the interaction between users and agents in a Smart Environment (SE) using acoustic services, in order to consider the unpredictable situations due to the sounds and vibrations. The middleware allows observing, analyzing, modifying and interacting in every state of a SE from the acoustics. This work details an extension of the ReM-AM using the ontology-driven architecture (ODA) paradigm for acoustic management.

This work details an extension of the ReM-AM using the ontology-driven architecture (ODA) paradigm for acoustic management. In this paper are defined the different domains of knowledge required for the management of the sounds in SEs, which are modeled using ontologies.

This work proposes an acoustics and sound ontology, a service-oriented architecture (SOA) ontology, and a data analytics and autonomic computing ontology, which work together. Finally, the paper presents three case studies in the context of smart workplace (SWP), ambient-assisted living (AAL) and Smart Cities (SC).

Future works will be based on the development of algorithms for classification and analysis of sound events, to help with emotion recognition not only from speech but also from random and separate sound events. Also, other works will be about the definition of the implementation requirements, and the definition of the real context modeling requirements to develop a real prototype.

In the case studies is possible to observe the flexibility that the ReM-AM middleware based on the ODA paradigm has by being aware of different contexts and acquire information of each, using this information to adapt itself to the environment and improve it using the autonomic cycles. To achieve this, the middleware integrates the classes and relations in its ontologies naturally in the autonomic cycles.

The main contribution of this work is the description of the ontologies required for future works about acoustic management in SE, considering that what has been studied by other works is the utilization of ontologies for sound event recognition but not have been expanded like knowledge source in an SE middleware. Specifically, this paper presents the theoretical framework of this work composed of the AmICL middleware, ReM-AM middleware and the ODA paradigm.

Iraq has kicked off the procedures to accede to the WTO through the organization’s full working party accession process. In its accession, Iraq is expected to agree to an arduous package of legal and economic reform. Having plunged into the WTO with the belief that accession is its best hope for a prosperous future, Iraq will now face many challenges. Some industries may lose out to competition. Yet liberalizing its market and integrating its economy with the rest of the world will ultimately benefit Iraq because it will stimulate reform and provide trade protections it otherwise would not enjoy. Iraq has made a wise investment by negotiating for WTO membership. Iraq’s accession terms could be rigorous, but they represent not only a cost, but also an investment. WTO membership can be a helpful tool for achieving greater prosperity for Iraq because it encourages progressive domestic policies.

Purpose – The chapter provides the reader with an overview of the UCF Enrichment Programs in Literacy that includes a year-round reading clinic with undergraduate and graduate students serving as clinicians and a summer Digital Storytelling Camp. The focus of the chapter is on the development and evolution of these programs, with an emphasis on the role of coaching in the clinic process.

Methodology/approach – The authors describe how they used Bean's Levels of Coaching Complexity (2004), adapting it to their clinical setting, to meet the current high demand for reading coaches in schools, and to strengthen their reading program courses and practicum experiences.

Practical implications – In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the UCF Enrichment Programs in Literacy, this chapter includes the nuts and bolts of how the authors “coach for success” in the reading clinic. This involves coaching for success during data collection, in the analysis and decision-making process, in the delivery of tutoring, and beyond the clinic setting. Along with the tutoring process, specific teaching tools (including student samples) and photographs are shared in order to allow for replication by educators who read this chapter.

Social implications – This chapter suggests how reading programs in colleges of education can reexamine their existing field experiences to develop a more deliberate model intended to (1) extend clinician skills in reading assessment, diagnosis, and instructional delivery; (2) promote self-reflection and collaborative professional learning; and (3) provide mentoring experiences that can be replicated in school and district settings by graduate student clinicians as they acquire new leadership roles and responsibilities. This chapter proposes programs that offer consistent, affordable instructional support in literacy for children and families in the surrounding community.

This paper aims to present a system framework for classifying different models of military aircrafts, which is based on the sound they produce.

The technique is based on extracting a compact feature set, of only two features, extracted from the frequency domain of the aircrafts’ sound signals produced by their engines, namely, the spectral centroid and the signal bandwidth. These features are then introduced to an artificial neural network to classify the aircraft signals.

The current system identifies the aircraft type among four military aircrafts: Mirage 2000, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-4 Phantom II and F-104 Starfighter. The experimental results show that the aforementioned types of aircrafts can be accurately classified up to 96.2 per cent via the proposed method.

The proposed system can be used as a low-cost assistive tool to the already existing radar systems to avoid cases of missed detection or false alarm. More importantly, the same method can be used for aircrafts that use stealth technology that cannot be detected using radar devices.

The proposed method constitutes a novel approach to classifying military aircrafts based on their sound signature. It utilizes only two spectral features extracted from the sound of the aircraft engine; these features are then introduced to a neural network classifier.

A real potential exists for library use of voice technologies: as aids to the disabled or illiterate library user, as front‐ends for general library help systems, in online systems for commands or control words, and in many of the hands‐busy‐eyes‐busy activities that are common in libraries. Initially, these applications would be small, limited processes that would not require the more fluent human‐machine communication that we might hope for in the future. Voice technologies will depend on and benefit from new computer systems, advances in artificial intelligence and expert systems to facilitate their use and enable them to better circumvent present input and output problems. These voice systems will gradually assume more importance, improving access to information and complementing existing systems, but they will not likely revolutionize or dominate human‐machine communications or library services in the near future.

The author reviews the concept of echoic memory. The topics of the modality advantage of echoic over visually received stimuli, the suffix effect, echoic trace duration, and speech recognition are examined. These concepts are then discussed and their implications for advertising communication are examined.

Acoustic pattern recognition has shown itself to be a powerful inspection aid.

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide research-based information to foster positive discussions about the need for phonics and phonemic awareness instruction in the primary grades. In order to read, students must possess secure knowledge of the alphabetic principle (i.e., that speech sounds are represented by combinations of letters in the alphabet) as well as the ability to aurally separate the distinct sounds (phonemes) that make up words.

Design: In this chapter, the authors provide essential definitions of phonics and phonemic awareness terms, highlight peer-reviewed research and best instructional practices, and clarify findings in relation to the recently renewed controversy over how to effectively teach reading to young children. The authors draw from respected research journals and years of classroom experience to provide recommendations to literacy teachers.

Findings: Explicit, systematic phonics instruction is crucial for beginning readers because most children will not intuit phonics concepts. To set the stage for phonics instruction (connecting speech sounds with their written representations), students must understand how to separate sounds in words. Therefore, instruction in phonemic awareness must be given independently of alphabetic representations; that is, students need to be able to hear the distinct sounds before mapping them onto written words. Once a student has mastered this understanding, however, instructional time need not be devoted to its development.

Practical Implications: This chapter contributes to the literature on phonics and phonemic awareness by clearly explaining the differences between the two concepts and their necessary inclusion in any beginning reading program. It includes practical activities teachers can use to develop these understandings in the classroom and provides research evidence to support their use.

Purpose – To provide classroom teachers with an overview of a range of assessments that can be administered either individually or to a group.

Design/methodology/approach – The chapter is organized from early literacy skill assessments (both individual and group based) to comprehension and standardized tests.

Findings – Provides detailed information on skills required for each element of reading, design of assessment, intended purpose, and process of administration.

Research limitations/implications – This is not an exhaustive list, the authors strove to highlight the most reliable and practical assessments from a large body of possible choices.

Practical implications – This is a valuable source for classroom teachers who are provided with a wide-range of assessment choices covering the breadth of reading skills with extensive details on each.

Originality/value of paper – Teachers need a range of assessments to choose from to make decisions at the individual, class and school level.