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The MORE system is designed for observation and machine-aided analysis of social interaction in real life situations, such as classroom teaching scenarios and business meetings. The system utilizes a multichannel approach to collect data whereby multiple streams of data in a number of different modalities are obtained from each situation. Typically the system collects a 360-degree video and audio feed from multiple microphones set up in the space. The system includes an advanced server backend component that is capable of performing video processing, feature extraction and archiving operations on behalf of the user. The feature extraction services form a key part of the system and rely on advanced signal analysis techniques, such as speech processing, motion activity detection and facial expression recognition in order to speed up the analysis of large data sets. The provided web interface weaves the multiple streams of information together, utilizes the extracted features as metadata on the audio and video data and lets the user dive into analyzing the recorded events. The objective of the system is to facilitate easy navigation of multimodal data and enable the analysis of the recorded situations for the purposes of, for example, behavioral studies, teacher training and business development. A further unique feature of the system is its low setup overhead and high portability as the lightest MORE setup only requires a laptop computer and the selected set of sensors on site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer simulation is the only practical way to model diffusion of cultural features, including speech. We describe the use of a cellular automaton to model feature diffusion as the adaptive aspect of the complex system of speech. Throughout hundreds of iterations that correspond to the daily interaction of speakers across time, we can watch regional distributional patterns emerge as a consequence of simple update rules. A key feature of our simulations is validation with respect to distributions known to occur in survey data. We focus on the importance of appropriate visualizations to observe what is happening during the process of diffusion, with comparison between visualizations of actual survey data and visualizations applied to our simulation. In this way, we believe that we are breaking new ground in simulation of cultural interactions as complex systems. The study of speech as a complex system addresses language as an aspect of culture that emerges from human interaction. We believe that successful simulation of speech in cultural interaction as a complex system can suggest how other aspects of humanities, such as sites, artifacts, or styles in archaeology, can diffuse and change across space and time. Our successful simulation confirms our complex systems approach, and indicates how appropriate use of visualizations makes this possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which focuses on the Digital Archive of Southern Speech (DASS), a collection of interviews chosen by researcher Lee Pederson to explain the range of speech in the Gulf States. According to the authors, DASS is a physical resource which may be used by people for teaching, research, and entertainment.