Illinois Institute of Technology

Research Assistant -- Technical Communication

I am a research assistant on an NSF-funded grant headed up by professor of linguistics, Matt Bauer. In this study, Bauer studies the changes in American English, over time. In order to investigate the process, known as merger, he designed a longitudinal study to determine whether “unmerged speakers”—those who maintain a contrast in certain vowel combinations, as in the words “cot” and “caught”—show signs of merger over time. Speakers who “merge” the vowels in the words “cot” and “caught” pronounce the words identically.

Illinois Institute of Technology

Visiting Assistant Professor

I teach courses in Linguistics, Technical Writing and Verbal and Visual Communication.

IIT Usability Testing and Evaluation Center

UX Researcher

National Marine Manufacturers Association -- The NNMA runs the annual Chicago Boat Show and were in the process of internally redesigning the event site. Having consulted with the stakeholders about what aspects of the site they wanted tested, we designed the test, recruited participants and conducted testing over a five-day period. Our team organized for the client to observe the testing remotely. We provided the client with a comprehensive report on the findings and redesign recommendations as a final deliverable.

bSwift -- bSwift offers a number of software solutions for health care benefit providers. In 2013, they planned the launch of a new site for companies which would facilitate and empower employees to enroll online for benefits. Through a series of virtual meetings with bSwift, our team developed user profiles, recruited test participants and conducted tests over a 5-day period. Having also conducted a thorough heuristic analysis, the team presented a comprehensive website redesign plan that was specifically targeted towards more mature users of the site.

Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) at the University of Miami -- CITI develops and delivers a variety of courses which certify researchers in good practice standards. As part of a team of researchers at IIT’s user research lab, I personally logged over 100 hours doing a comprehensive heuristic analysis of the existing website. The team created user profiles, designed and conducted a usability test with potential users. Once the test was completed, as part of the reporting process, I made recommendations for the redesign of both content and layout of the site, creating mockups for the client.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Brittain Fellow

I teach courses in Technical Communication.

Towson University

Assistant Professor, Technical Communication and Information Design

Halcyon worked at Towson University as a Assistant Professor, Technical Communication and Information Design

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

The Effect of Mood Induction on Adolescent Speech Behavior.

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE)

Poster Presentation on the findings of an experiment conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated.

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

The Effect of Mood Induction on Adolescent Speech Behavior.

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE)

Poster Presentation on the findings of an experiment conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated.

Developing a Communication-Across-The-Curriculum Culture: Process, Problems and Possibilities

Conference Proceedings, International Society of Technical Communicators (ISTC) Conference

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

The Effect of Mood Induction on Adolescent Speech Behavior.

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE)

Poster Presentation on the findings of an experiment conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated.

Developing a Communication-Across-The-Curriculum Culture: Process, Problems and Possibilities

Conference Proceedings, International Society of Technical Communicators (ISTC) Conference

Foreign-accented Speech in Speech-mediated Technology: To Localize or Not?

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

There are currently more non-native speakers of English in the world, than native speakers; yet existing speech-mediated applications marginally reflect this fact, in part because not enough is known about how people will respond to accented speech-mediated technologies. This presentation addressed the conditions best suited for use of foreign-accented speech.

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

The Effect of Mood Induction on Adolescent Speech Behavior.

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE)

Poster Presentation on the findings of an experiment conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated.

Developing a Communication-Across-The-Curriculum Culture: Process, Problems and Possibilities

Conference Proceedings, International Society of Technical Communicators (ISTC) Conference

Foreign-accented Speech in Speech-mediated Technology: To Localize or Not?

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

There are currently more non-native speakers of English in the world, than native speakers; yet existing speech-mediated applications marginally reflect this fact, in part because not enough is known about how people will respond to accented speech-mediated technologies. This presentation addressed the conditions best suited for use of foreign-accented speech.

Beyond Binary: Technical Communication and the Knowledge Student

IEEE Transactions in Communications

Traditional forms of tertiary level engineering education are insufficient to meet the needs of the knowledge student. A multi-disciplinary approach needs to be adopted as the knowledge worker requires a new set of skills, key of which is the technical communication skills set. Through a case study of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of the West Indies, this paper highlights one such course which seeks to teach these new skills and recommends ways in which a multi-disciplinary approach to engineering education can be achieved in an environment of limited resources.

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

The Effect of Mood Induction on Adolescent Speech Behavior.

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE)

Poster Presentation on the findings of an experiment conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated.

Developing a Communication-Across-The-Curriculum Culture: Process, Problems and Possibilities

Conference Proceedings, International Society of Technical Communicators (ISTC) Conference

Foreign-accented Speech in Speech-mediated Technology: To Localize or Not?

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

There are currently more non-native speakers of English in the world, than native speakers; yet existing speech-mediated applications marginally reflect this fact, in part because not enough is known about how people will respond to accented speech-mediated technologies. This presentation addressed the conditions best suited for use of foreign-accented speech.

Beyond Binary: Technical Communication and the Knowledge Student

IEEE Transactions in Communications

Traditional forms of tertiary level engineering education are insufficient to meet the needs of the knowledge student. A multi-disciplinary approach needs to be adopted as the knowledge worker requires a new set of skills, key of which is the technical communication skills set. Through a case study of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of the West Indies, this paper highlights one such course which seeks to teach these new skills and recommends ways in which a multi-disciplinary approach to engineering education can be achieved in an environment of limited resources.

Book Review of Foreign Accent: The Phenomenon of Non-native Speech. Alene Moyer (2013).

Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 2014, Volume 36:3

Speech Intelligibility: Its Scope and Purpose in Technical Communication

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

This paper provides an introduction to speech intelligibility and makes the argument that technical communicators are in a position to provide guidance in the design of audio interactions in technological environments. To this end, I define speech intelligibility, examine factors affecting speech intelligibility and describe how it is measured. I describe a number of areas that technical communicators must be familiar with to make a contribution to speech intelligibility research, and finally, I examine the role that technical communicators can play in designing and evaluating speech for a technological environment.

The Effect of Mood Induction on Adolescent Speech Behavior.

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE)

Poster Presentation on the findings of an experiment conducted to determine if a sad mood induction procedure using music and self-imagery would produce sad speech in adolescents. Results indicate that although participants perceived a change in mood from neutral to sad, none of the baseline acoustic correlates of sad speech were identified in their recordings. These results suggest that either participants were not induced into a sad mood by this procedure or that the method of self-reporting is an inadequate assessment for this age group, signaling that more effective ways to measure mood for adolescents should be investigated.

Developing a Communication-Across-The-Curriculum Culture: Process, Problems and Possibilities

Conference Proceedings, International Society of Technical Communicators (ISTC) Conference

Foreign-accented Speech in Speech-mediated Technology: To Localize or Not?

Conference Proceedings, Society of Technical Communication

There are currently more non-native speakers of English in the world, than native speakers; yet existing speech-mediated applications marginally reflect this fact, in part because not enough is known about how people will respond to accented speech-mediated technologies. This presentation addressed the conditions best suited for use of foreign-accented speech.

Beyond Binary: Technical Communication and the Knowledge Student

IEEE Transactions in Communications

Traditional forms of tertiary level engineering education are insufficient to meet the needs of the knowledge student. A multi-disciplinary approach needs to be adopted as the knowledge worker requires a new set of skills, key of which is the technical communication skills set. Through a case study of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of the West Indies, this paper highlights one such course which seeks to teach these new skills and recommends ways in which a multi-disciplinary approach to engineering education can be achieved in an environment of limited resources.

Book Review of Foreign Accent: The Phenomenon of Non-native Speech. Alene Moyer (2013).

Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 2014, Volume 36:3

Merger within an Individual

Conference Proceedings, International Conference of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS)