[comp.ai.nlang-know-rep] NL-KR Digest, Volume 8 No. 28

nl-kr-request@CS.RPI.EDU (NL-KR Moderator Chris Welty) (06/04/91)

NL-KR Digest      (Mon Jun  3 13:33:53 1991)      Volume 8 No. 28

Today's Topics:

	 AI SEMINAR:   Ted Briscoe
	 Natural language parsing using ATN's
	 Language parsing and NLP for pascal/c
	 objects perspectives
	 books and articles on expert system related to Network Management
	 help in learning powerhouse 
	 *** ECAI'92 *** CALL FOR PAPERS   (plain text version)
	 CILS Calendar
	 CSLI Colloquium, Thursday, 23 May, 4:15 p.m., Cordura 100
	 AI Seminar: John Nerbonne, May 27

Submissions: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
Requests, policy: nl-kr-request@cs.rpi.edu
Back issues are available from host archive.cs.rpi.edu [128.213.10.18] in
the files nl-kr/Vxx/Nyy (ie nl-kr/V01/N01 for V1#1), mail requests will
not be promptly satisfied.  If you can't reach `cs.rpi.edu' you may want
to use `turing.cs.rpi.edu' instead.
BITNET subscribers: we now have a LISTSERVer for nl-kr.
  You may send submissions to NL-KR@RPIECS
  and any listserv-style administrative requests to LISTSERV@RPIECS.

[ Sorry for the delay getting out this issue, end of semester and
  all that implies... CW ]
-----------------------------------------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
>From: Marie Meteer <mmeteer@BBN.COM>
Subject: AI SEMINAR:   Ted Briscoe
Date: Mon, 3 Jun 91 08:56:52 EDT
Mail-System-Version: <MacEMail_1.2.3@BBN.COM>

                  BBN Science Development Program 	   
		      AI Seminar Series Lecture 
	

    GENERALISED PROBABILISTIC LR PARSING OF NATURAL LANGUAGE (CORPORA) 
                   WITH UNIFICATION-BASED GRAMMARS

                             TED BRISCOE

                   John Carroll Computer Laboratory   
                         Cambridge University			  
	       Ted.Briscoe@computer-lab.cambridge.ac.uk 				    				    		

		BBN, 2nd floor large conference room 		  
		 10 Moulton St, Cambridge MA, 02138  

                Wednesday, June 12th, 1990, 10:30 AM 

   We describe work towards the construction of a very wide-coverage
probabilistic parsing system for natural language (NL), based on LR
parsing techniques. The system is intended to rank the large number of
syntactic analyses produced by NL grammars according to the frequency of
occurrence of the individual rules deployed in each analysis.  We
discuss a fully automatic procedure for constructing an LR parse table
from a unification-based grammar formalism, and consider the suitability
of alternative LALR(1) parse table construction methods for large
grammars. The parse table is used as the basis for two parsers; a
user-driven interactive system which provides a computationally
tractable and labour-efficient method of supervised learning of the
statistical information required to drive the probabilistic parser.  The
latter is constructed by associating probabilities with the LR parse
table directly. This technique is superior to parsers based on
probabilistic lexical tagging or probabilistic context-free grammar
because it allows for a more context dependent probabilistic language
model as well as use of a more linguistically adequate grammar
formalism. We compare the performance of Tomita's (1987) generalised LR
parsing algorithm, and some optimised variants, to an efficient chart
parser. We report promising results of a pilot study training on 250
noun dictionary definitions from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English (LDOCE) and retesting on these plus a further 50 definitions.
Finally, we discuss limitations of the current system and possible
extensions to deal with lexical (syntactic and semantic) frequency of
occurrence.

       ******************************************************* 
             Suggestions for AI Seminar speakers are always            
	        welcome.   Please e-mail suggestions to             
	           Marie Meteer (mmeteer@bbn.com) or 
	              Dan Cerys  (cerys@bbn.com). 
       ******************************************************* 

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
>From: falk@flip.Cayman.COM (Geoffrey Falk)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.compilers,comp.ai.nlang-know-rep
Subject: Natural language parsing using ATN's
Keywords: augmented transition networks
Date: 25 May 91 19:57:37 GMT

Hi all...

I am working on a front-end parser for a speech synthesis
system.  It needs to parse English text to determine phrasing
for intonation.  I was told that ATNs are the way to go.  Does
anyone have code in C that would help illustrate the technique?
Even better, is there a yacc-alike for generating ATNs from a
grammar?

Any help is muchly appreciated.  Please reply by Email; I will
summarize if there seems to be sufficient interest.
Thanks in advance.

Geoffrey Falk
Dept. of Mathematics & Dept. of Computer Science
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta

falk@flip.ucalgary.ca (NeXTMail)
falk@cpsc.ucalgary.ca

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
Date: Wed, 29 May 91 13:14:24 EDT
>From: popkin@oswine.cs.odu.edu (Brian N. Popkin)
Subject: Language parsing and NLP for pascal/c
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Date: Wed, 29 May 1991 17:14:07 GMT

I am currently looking for nlp's and language parsers for c and pascal..

any help would be great!

Thanks.

Brian

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------*
*  Brian Popkin - Computer Science Major - Systems Programing                 *
*  Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia USA                            *
*									      *
*  Others Areas Of Interest: Artificial Intelligence, Expert Systems,         *
*                            Networks, And Telecommunications                 *
*                                        				      *
*  Email Address: popkin@cs.odu.edu - popkin@xanth.cs.odu.edu                 *

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
>From: napoli@loria.crin.fr (Amedeo Napoli)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.nlang-know-rep
Subject: objects perspectives
Date: 29 May 91 11:25:40 GMT

Bonjour tout le monde,

In the following paper

  AUTHOR = {M. Stefik and D.G. Bobrow},
  TITLE = {{Object-Oriented Programming: Themes and Variations}},
  JOURNAL = {The AI magazine},
  VOLUME = 6,
  NUMBER = 4,
  YEAR = 1986,
  PAGES = {40--62},

M. Stefik and D. Bobrow present "perspectives" as a generalization of
composite objects, but their description is rather short, does anyone
know other references on the subject, (also from an artificial
intelligence point of view i.e. objects for knowledge representation)?
Thanks in advance,
please send me directly the responses, I will post a summary

Merci beaucoup d'avance,

Amedeo NAPOLI

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
Newsgroups: comp.ai.nlang-know-rep
>From: vinh@tdd.sj.nec.com (Vinh Huynh)
Subject: books and articles on expert system related to Network Management
Nntp-Posting-Host: 131.241.5.52
Date: Tue, 21 May 1991 17:03:33 GMT

I am working on a new Network Management project that utilizes 
an expert system(Neuron Data). I'd like to get more informations 
on expert systems related to this area in particular a list of books 
or references dealing with the following subject:
       1. Introduction to Expert Systems. 
       2. Building Knowledge Representation for Network Management.

Thank you in advance for your help.

vinh@tdd.sj.nec.com

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
Date: Thu, 16 May 91 20:47:23 -0700
Newsgroups: comp.ai.nlang-know-rep
>From: davidd@june.cs.washington.edu (David Doll)
Subject: help in learning powerhouse 
Organization: Univ.of Washington Computer Science & Engineering

Hello, I was wondering if anybody had any experience with the
powerhouse package that runs on a DEC VAX machines  - or any other
ones if be...I need to get ramped upto speed as quick as
possible. I would appriecate any pointers and words of wisdom people
may have. Could you please e-mail me.Thanks for your time and help. 

- -
David Doll
Computer Science and Engineering
Univ. of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
MS: FR-35
(206) 685-3061, 543-5075
davidd@cs.washington.edu

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
>From: ai-vie!paolo@relay.eu.net (paolo petta)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.nlang-know-rep
Subject: *** ECAI'92 *** CALL FOR PAPERS   (plain text version)
Date: 14 May 91 13:14:51 GMT

=======================================================================
 CALL FOR PAPERS - ECAI92 - CALL FOR PAPERS - ECAI92 - CALL FOR PAPERS
=======================================================================

                            CALL FOR PAPERS

     10th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 92)

                   August 3-7, 1992, Vienna, Austria

The  European  Conference  on  Artificial  Intelligence  (ECAI)  is  the
European  forum for scientific exchange and presentation of AI research.
The aim of the conference is to cover all aspects of AI research and  to
bring  together  basic  research  and  applied  research.  The Technical
Programme will  include  paper  presentations,  invited  talks,  panels,
workshops,  and  tutorials.  The  conference  is  designed  to cover all
subfields of AI, including non-symbolic methods.

ECAIs are held in alternate years and  are  organized  by  the  European
Coordinating  Committee  for  Artificial  Intelligence (ECCAI). The 10th
ECAI in 1992 will be hosted  by  the  Austrian  Society  for  Artificial
Intelligence  (OGAI).  The  conference  will  take  place  at the Vienna
University of Economics and Business Administration.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

You are invited to submit an original  research  paper  on  any  of  the
following subjects:

- Automated  Reasoning  (e.g.  automatic  programming,  reasoning   with
     uncertainty,   theorem   proving,  constraint  satisfaction,  logic
     programming, search)
- Cognitive  Modeling  (e.g.  models  for  human  problem  solving   and
     information  processing,  memory  models, computational theories in
     psychology)
- Connectionist and PDP Models for AI (e.g. connectionist architectures,
     connectionist learning, neural networks applications)
- Distributed  AI  and  Multiagent  Systems  (e.g.  distributed  problem
     solving,    distributed    resource    allocation,   communication,
     cooperation)
- Enabling  Technology  and  Systems  (e.g.  machine  architectures,  AI
     computer languages, tools for AI system development)
- Integrated Systems (e.g. integrating several AI  components,  embedded
     AI, integrating AI and conventional systems)
- Knowledge Representation (e.g. terminological knowledge,  nonmonotonic
     logic,  foundations  of  temporal,  causal  and  spatial reasoning,
     abduction, common sense, complexity of reasoning)
- Machine  Learning  (e.g.  inductive  learning,   knowledge   intensive
     learning, discovery, concept formation)
- Natural Language  (e.g.  text  generation  and  understanding,  speech
     understanding, syntax, semantics, discourse, representation issues,
     NL system architecture)
- Philosophical Foundations (e.g. philosophy of mind, functionalism  and
     AI, epistemological foundations)
- Planning, Scheduling, and Reasoning about Actions (e.g.  temporal  and
     causal  reasoning  for planning, task scheduling, plan recognition,
     resource allocation)
- Principles of  AI  Applications  (e.g.  generic  applications,  expert
     system  design, tutoring systems, knowledge acquisition, case-based
     reasoning)
- Reasoning  about  Physical   Systems   (e.g.   modeling,   model-based
     simulation,  qualitative  reasoning, diagnosis, design, monitoring,
     applications  of  causal,  temporal  and  spatial   reasoning   for
     engineering, scientific, medical, economic problems)
- Robotics (e.g. connecting perception to action, sensor-motor  systems,
     kinematics, navigation, grasping)
- Social, Economic, Legal, and Artistic Implications (e.g. AI scenarios,
     ethical issues, legal issues and responsibility, AI and music)
- User  Interfaces  (e.g.  intelligent  graphical  interfaces,   natural
     language  front  ends,  user  models,  knowledge-based  information
     presentation, artificial reality)
- Verification, Validation  &  Test  of  Knowledge-Based  Systems  (e.g.
     improving and securing consistency, completeness, reliability)
- Vision  and  Signal  Understanding  (e.g.  vision  and  perception  in
     biological    and   technical   systems,   sensor   interpretation,
     intelligent signal interpretation)

SUBMISSION OF PAPERS

Authors are requested to submit to the Programme Chairperson 5 copies of
papers  written  in  English  in  hardcopy  format  (electronic  and fax
submissions will not be accepted). Submitted papers must be unpublished,
original  work  and  substantially different from papers currently under
review. They must not be submitted elsewhere before  notification  date.
This  restriction  does  not  apply to workshops and similar specialized
presentations with a limited audience.

Papers can be either long papers (completed research: maximum 5000 words
/  10  single-spaced  pages)  or short papers (ongoing research: maximum
2000 words / 4 pages). Each full page of figures counts  as  500  words.
Each  paper  should  contain an abstract (maximum 200 words). A separate
title page should include the  title,  the  name(s)  of  the  author(s),
complete  address(es), the specification of one of the above topics, and
the category long or short. Papers should be printed on A4  or  8.5"x11"
sized  paper  in letter quality print, with 12 point type (10 chars/inch
on typewriter).

Work described in an accepted paper  may  also  be  illustrated  with  a
videotape  or  a  demo.  Special  sessions  will  be scheduled for video
presentations and demos. Authors wishing to show a videotape or  a  demo
should  specify  the duration and the requirements of the videotape/demo
when submitting their paper for review.

TIMETABLE

Papers must be received by the Programme Chairperson before January  17,
1992.  Authors  will  be notified of acceptance or rejection by April 1,
1992. Final camera-ready papers must be received by May 15, 1992.

WORKSHOPS

Workshops are welcome at  ECAI  92.  They  will  give  participants  the
opportunity  to  discuss  specific technical topics in a small, informal
environment,  which  encourages  interaction  and  exchange  of   ideas.
Workshop  proposals  should be sent to the Programme Chairperson as soon
as possible, but not later than January  17,  1992.  Workshop  proposals
should  contain  a  brief  description of the workshop and the technical
issues addressed, a preliminary schedule, and the  names  and  addresses
(postal,  phone,  fax,  e-mail)  of  the  Organizing  Committee  of  the
workshop. The proposals will be reviewed  and  the  organizers  will  be
notified  not  later  than  February  28,  1992.  The   organizers   are
responsible  for  producing  a  call  for  participation,  for reviewing
requests to participate  and  for  scheduling  the  workshop  activities
within  the constraints set by the conference organizers. Workshops will
be scheduled outside the main technical programme.

ECAI PRIZE

A prize for the best paper as determined by the Programme Committee will
be awarded; the Digital Equipment Prize will also be awarded at ECAI 92.

PROGRAMME CHAIRPERSON

Papers, workshop proposals and all  inquiries  regarding  the  programme
should be sent to the Programme Chairperson:
   Prof. Bernd Neumann
   FB Informatik
   University of Hamburg
   Bodenstedtstr.16
   D-W-2000 Hamburg 50
   Germany

PROGRAMME COMMITTEE

Luigia Carlucci Aiello, Italy       Ramon Lopez de Mantaras, Spain
Giuseppe Attardi, Italy             David Makinson, France
Wolfgang Bibel, Germany             Robert Milne, United Kingdom
Mike Brady, United Kingdom          Katharina Morik, Germany
Ivan Bratko, Yugoslavia             Bernhard Nebel, Germany
Alan R. Bundy, United Kingdom       Wolfgang Nejdl, Austria
Stephan Busemann, Germany           Erkki Oja, Finland
Rolf Eckmiller, Germany             Eugenio Oliveira, Portugal
Jan-Olof Eklundh, Sweden            Domenico Parisi, Italy
Boi Faltings, Switzerland           Radoslav Pavlov, Bulgaria
Olivier Faugeras, France            Henri Prade, France
Francoise Fogelman-Soulie, France   Peter Raulefs, USA
Christian Freksa, Germany           Graeme D. Ritchie, United Kingdom
Peter Gardenfors, Sweden            Lorenza Saitta, Italy
Volker Haarslev, Germany            Erik Sandewall, Sweden
Eva Hajicova, Czechoslovakia        Aaron Sloman, United Kingdom
Werner Horn, Austria                Karen Sparck-Jones, United Kingdom
Gerard Kempen, The Netherlands      Sam Steel, United Kingdom
Dietrich Koch, Germany              Luc Steels, Belgium
Yves Kodratoff, France              Pietro Torasso, Italy
Jan Koenderink, The Netherlands     Robert Trappl, Austria
Jean-Pierre Laurent, France         Enn Tyugu, USSR
Maurizio Lenzerini, Italy

OTHER ACTIVITIES AND INQUIRIES

ECAI 92 will present a set of tutorials which  will  focus  both  on  AI
topics  from  the  practical perspective and on topics about emerging AI
technologies. All inquiries regarding tutorials should  be  directed  to
the  Tutorial  Chairperson, Werner Horn, Austrian Research Institute for
Artificial Intelligence, Schottengasse 3, A-1010 Vienna,  Austria  (tel:
+43-1-53532810, fax: +43-1-630652, email: werner@ai-vie.uucp).

For inquiries about registration (scientific programme  and  tutorials),
accommodation  and  other  local  arrangements  you  should  contact the 
ECAI92 Conference Office,  ADV,  Trattnerhof 2,  A-1010 Vienna,  Austria
(tel: +43-1-5330913-74, fax: +43-1-5330913-77, telex: 75311178 adv a).

All inquiries regarding other activities should be directed to the Local
Arrangements   Chairperson,   Johannes   Retti,   Siemens  AG,  Abt.EK4,
Goellnergasse 15, A-1030 Vienna, Austria  (tel:  +43-1-71711-5030,  fax:
+43-1-71711-5120, email: retti%siewien.uucp@relay.eu.net).   

- - 
paolo petta,                     paolo@ai-vie.uucp (..mcsun!tuvie!ai-vie!paolo)
austrian research institute for          bitnet: paolo%ai-vie.uucp@relay.eu.net
artificial intelligence          outside europe: paolo%ai-vie.uucp@relay.eu.net

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
Subject: CILS Calendar
X-Mailer: MH 6.6 #5[UCI]
Date: Mon, 13 May 91 14:35:44 -0500
>From: colleen@tira.uchicago.edu

[ These next few are past. - CW ]

_________________ T H E   C I L S   C A L E N D A R ________________

	   The Center for Information and Language Studies
 Joseph Regenstein Library, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637

Subscription requests to:		      cils@tira.uchicago.edu
____________________________________________________________________

Vol. 1, No. 27 					    May 13, 1991
				   ~*~
Upcoming events:

5/13   14:30  Ry 277	Lecture		Elizabeth A. Hinkelman, CILS
5/13   16:00  Wb 130    Workshop	Pragmatics of Language
5/14   16:00  Wb 408    Workshop	Mark Turner, Univ. of Maryland
6/3    16:00  Wb 130    Workshop	Pragmatics of Language
- ------------------------------

				MONDAY, MAY 13

2:30 p.m.	Elizabeth A. Hinkelman (eliz@clove.uchicago.edu)
 Ry 277		Center for Information and Language Studies
		"Software Evaluation Using The Natural Language 
		Software Registry"

Abstract in last week's calendar.

				    *****

4:00 p.m.	Workshop
 Wb 130		The Pragmatics of Language
		Nancy Dray, Linguistics
		Marshall Abrams, Philosophy

For more information, please contact Jerrold Sadock, Department of Linguistics
(2-8524, sadock@sapir) or Josef Stern, Department of Philosophy (2-8594,
j06s@midway).

The final workshop of the quarter will be Monday, June 3.  Speakers:  Donald 
Breen and James Shelley, Dept. of Philosophy.
_____________

				TUESDAY, MAY 14

4:00 p.m.	Workshop
 Wb 408		Language and Thought
		Mark Turner, Dept. of English, University of Maryland
		"Texts and Brains"  

This presentation pertains to Professor Turner's forthcoming book "Reading 
Minds:  The Study of English in the Age of Cognitive Science," forthcoming 
from Princeton UP.  Readings available in CL 11.  For more information, please 
contact Paula Schiller (733-0915).  New participants are welcome.
- -----------
End of CILS Calendar

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
Date: Fri, 17 May 91 16:34:53 PDT
>From: ingrid@russell.stanford.edu (Ingrid Deiwiks)
Subject: CSLI Colloquium, Thursday, 23 May, 4:15 p.m., Cordura 100

			   CSLI COLLOQUIUM
       Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: A Computer Model
			  Douglas Hofstadter
	    Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition
		   Indiana University - Bloomington
		     Thursday, 23 May, 4:15 p.m.
			     Cordura 100

The architecture of the Copycat Program is sketched in broad strokes
with stress placed on its model of _concepts_ and on the essential
role played by nondeterminism in the model.  The domain along with
several typical problems in it will be discussed, and statistical
summaries of many runs of the program on each problem will be
presented in the form of bargraphs, showing how often each answer is
produced.  The "popularity" of each answer is contrasted with another
measure of its quality, demonstrating that the program's most
"natural" roots do not necessarily lead it to the most insightful
viewpoints in all cases, but that insight is recognized when the
program stumbles across it.  The gradual emergence of concepts
relevant to the situation at hand from their default status of
dormancy is a key feature of the architecture, and mechanisms allowing
this to happen will be described.

------------------------------

To: nl-kr@cs.rpi.edu
>From: Marie Meteer <mmeteer@bbn.com>
Subject: AI Seminar: John Nerbonne, May 27
Date: Sun, 19 May 91 13:43:57 EDT
Mail-System-Version: <MacEMail_1.2.3@BBN.COM>

                    	BBN Science Development Program 	   
			   AI Seminar Series Lecture 	

		Nominal Comparatives and Generalized Quantifier
				John Nerbonne

             Deutsches Forschungszentrum fur kunstliche Intelligenz
                              Saarbrucken, Germany
                            nerbonne@dfki.uni-sb.de				    				    		

		   BBN, 2nd floor large conference room 		  
		   10 Moulton St, Cambridge MA, 02138  

	            Tuesday, May 28th, 1991, 10:30 AM 

   This work adopts the perspective of Generalized Quantifier Theory in
order to focus on the microstructure of comparative determiners. Since
nominal comparatives involve plural and mass reference, we begin with a
domain of discourse upon which a lattice structure (Link's) is imposed,
and which maps, first to a domain of abstract dimensions (e.g.
cardinalities, volumes), and then to concrete measures (in N,R+). The
mapping must be Archimedean. Comparisons begin as simple predicates on
dimensions or measures; from these we derive classes of predicates on
the domain, i.e. generalized determiners (quantifiers), and show e.g.
how monotonicity properties follow in the derivation.  This results in a
proposal for a logical language which includes derived determiners, and
which is an attractive target for semantic interpretation; it also turns
out that some interesting comparative determiners are first order, at
least when restricted to  nonparametric and noncollective predications.

   Although there's an extensive literature on the semantics of 
adjectival comparison, there's much less on nominal comparatives. 
Keenan and Moss (Keenan 1984) investigate these fairly abstractly, also
from a generalized quantifier perspective, demonstrating e.g.
conservativity (and adducing an interesting class of ternary
determiners).  But their approach is broad and systematic; comparative
determiners are syncategorematic.  The treatment below is more detailed.

   This also seems to be the first study to proceed from a plural (or
mass-term) logic to a treatment of nominal comparatives.  But this
perspective seems not only descriptively essential (since virtually all
nominal comparatives involve plural or mass reference), it also leads to
an interesting generalization about the possible comparative
determiners:  the only ones possible depend on measure functions which
are homomorphic to the plural (or mass) domain.

       ******************************************************* 
             Suggestions for AI Seminar speakers are always            
	        welcome.   Please e-mail suggestions to             
	           Marie Meteer (mmeteer@bbn.com) or 
	              Dan Cerys  (cerys@bbn.com). 
       ******************************************************* 

------------------------------

End of NL-KR Digest
*******************