Author Archives: Francisco de Lacerda
Migrationsverket, SPRAKAB:s granskare och granskning av SPRAKAB
Uppdrag gransknings program, Kodnamn EA20 (SVT 1, 2014-11-12), väcker många frågor kring Migrationsverkets och SPRAKAB:s språkanalyser. Att en myndighets språkanalyser utförs av ett kommersiellt företag är ett problem. Att Migrationsverket inte använder sig av erkänd akademisk lingvistisk kompetens för att granska företaget är ett annat problem. Att … Continue reading
Visumregler och internationellt forskarutbyte
Hur skall visumreglerna utformas så att de inte hindrar Sveriges möjlighet att etablera och utveckla värdefulla forsknings kontakter? En viktig fråga som diskuteras i DN, 2014-07-08: http://www.dn.se/debatt/nej-till-visum-for-forskare-hotar-vetenskapligt-utbyte/
Fonetik och samhället
Frikativor på Roslagsbanan Att resa med Roslagsbanan i de nya, fräscha vagnarna har blivit en obehaglig fonetisk upplevelse för resenärerna. De automatiska utropen av kommande stationer matchar inte den stora satningen som gjordes på Roslagsbanan (). Utropen spelas på alldeles för hög … Continue reading
The lie-detection dream: Forcing “truth” by repeating lies
Unfortunately, British authorities continue using “technology” supposed to carry out “voice risk analyses” (VRA): http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/10/councils-use-lie-detector-tests-benefits-fraudsters It is amazing that public funds keep on being diverted to pseudo-scientific devices in the UK. It is good that “No one is going to … Continue reading
Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of listening to Robert J. Lefkowitz‘s Nobel lecture at Stockholm University, in connection with the 2012’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry that he shared with Brian K. Kobilka. Robert J. Lefkowitz is affiliated with … Continue reading
Study in progress: Why do people believe in pseudoscientific voice-based emotion analyses?
Mayew & Venkatachalam’s recent article on “The Power of Voice…” (Mayew & Venkatachalam, 2012) shows that academics are not immune to the fallacies of pseudoscience. This is a potential problem because academics may end up endorsing bogus technologies that, if … Continue reading
Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Is finance research flirting with pseudoscience?
Open lecture at The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. For further information check the Academy’s event calendar at: http://www.kva.se/sv/Kalendariumlista/Event/?eventId=393 Welcome!
Further discussion of the Mayew and Venkatachalam’s JF paper, “The Power of Voice”…
…can be followed on the Economics Job Market Rumors thread posted at: http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/another-flawed-jf-paper The following blog (posted by Ministry of Truth) presents an excellent discussion of why researchers from the world of finance may have been trapped by LVA’s pseudoscientific technology: http://www.ministryoftruth.me.uk/2012/02/08/nemesyscos-lva-technology-ghosts-in-the-noise/
Money Talks: The Power of Voice — Comment on William J. Mayew and Mohan Venkatachalam’s reply
Nemesysco’s claims are the real problem Nemesysco’s LVA technology has no plausible scientific bases. This is not new but it is the real problem and it cannot be settled by arguing from correlations. It has to be addressed in principle, … Continue reading
LVA voice analysis technology – A threat to the credibility of academic financial studies
Hobson, Mayew and Venkatachalam’s paper, Analyzing Speech to Detect Financial Misreporting, is just the last of a series of flawed studies by Mayew and Venkatachalam. The authors insist in using Nemesysco’s LVA technology and give the impression that this is as an emerging … Continue reading
Phonetics at Stockholm University Blog 