[comp.theory.info-retrieval] IRList Digest V4 #23

FOXEA@VTVAX3.BITNET (05/04/88)

IRList Digest           Saturday, 30 April 1988      Volume 4 : Issue 23

Today's Topics:
   Query - ACM Database Products
   Discussion - ACM Database Products description
   COGSCI - Compilation of Two-Level Phonological Rules

News addresses are
   Internet or CSNET: fox@vtopus.cs.vt.edu
   BITNET: foxea@vtvax3.bitnet

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From: <ackerman@ATHENA.MIT.EDU>
Subject: request for help in SIGIR bulletin
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 88 17:30:33 EST

I read the 2/88 CACM article on your efforts, but I'm still not quite sure
what it is that you'll be doing.  It sounds interesting, but what sort of
help are you looking for?

        Mark Ackerman

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Date: Sat, 30 Apr 88 10:31:54 PDT
From: Edward A. Fox <fox>
Subject: Info. for those interested in ACM Database Products

Hi!

I am writing to those who have expressed an interest in ACM Database
Products, or who I think might be interested.  Since this is a new
venture, I hope you will give me your comments and help us develop this
concept further.

ACM Database Products (please forgive the name -- its meaning should become
clearer as you read further, I hope) is partially described in the
article by Peter Wegner in the February issue of "Communications of the ACM."
I will endeavor to explain more details in the following paragraphs.

There are really two separate but related activities, and there are some
foundation efforts underway as well.  In basic terms, the idea is for ACM
to make use of a database or collection of materials that have been or will be
published on behalf of ACM, to help meet the needs of the computer community.
The current foundation is the "Computing Reviews" category scheme, plus an
electronic library that will eventually be developed to include hopefully all
of the materials that ACM holds copyright on, so that people can do searches
and find appropriate items to help with their various activities.  Initially
that library will include the databases connected with "Computing Reviews"
and "Guide to the Computing Literature" and will then expanded to include first
abstracts and then the full-text of "Communications."  Later all ACM
publications in all media may be included -- "Collected Algorithms,"
the SIGGRAPH video tape library, videos of tutorials, etc.

Building on that foundation, the two activities will be to produce book and
other media products.  The books will be published by Addison-Wesley as part
of the ACM Press Books venture (see article by P. Wegner mentioned above).
The other products will include diskettes, CD-ROM, online services, etc.
The imagination of prospective authors and editors now seems to be the main
limit on what types of proposals we would welcome.

Books may include previously published articles (surveys, research works,
tutorials, etc.), (annotated) bibliographies, extensive indexes, as well as
the normal manuscript forms.  Thus, they may (but need not) be similar to Readin
gs
or Tutorials.  One likely possibility is to use the "Computing Reviews"
category scheme and database searching to help develop a bibliography and to
help select slices through the literature to meet a specialized need of the
computing community in a timely fashion, such as when a new field emerges
suddenly and there are no relevant books for courses or practitioners.
It is entirely appropriate to have a non-print supplement to such books, such
as a diskette with hypertext version, or with a searchable bibliography.
Non-book products can take virtually any form, as software or database with
software, or as a hardware/software/database combination, for example.

I serve as series editor for Database Products.  In this volunteer position
I aim to solicit, help develop, and ultimately get approval of proposals for
products where there will be a sufficient market to make publication
worthwhile, and where the aims of ACM (e.g., serving the computing profession)
can be advanced.  I will also help prospective editors in the process of going
from proposal to publication, and will serve as liason to ACM headquarters (and
Addison-Wesley if a book is involved).

We already have some hypertext and hypermedia projects in the works, and
may be launching some book efforts as well.  Editors can include materials
previously published by ACM to supplement their own new contributions, and
can provide full-text, bibliographies, algorithms, video tapes, self-assessment
questions, curriculum, and other components of the ACM collection.

Proposals must address the following issues:
1) Target audience - makeup, size, proof of interest/demand.  Have you done
  a formal or informal market study or do you want one done.  What is the
  expected list price (in round numbers).
2) The purpose/aim of the product.  If there will be several related products,
  what will be the overall aim of each and how will they relate.  What will
  recipients be able to do with the product -- can they browse, search,
  download, print, reformat, repackage or redistribute on their own, etc.
  What are the educational or other objectives.
3) What will be included in the product, where it will come from, when you will
  get it, what form it will be in, how the components will fit together --
  distinguishing the previously published parts and the new parts and value-adde
d.
  Supply an outline of the work, a table of contents if appropriate, a draft cop
y
  or detailed outline for all parts where such is available (especially of the
  introductory chapter or unit), and any other information about the organizatio
n
  or content.
4) Media involved for actual use by product recipients as well as for distributi
on
  (may be several -- diskettes, CD-ROM, tapes, etc. -- how many will be in the
  normal product distribution(s)).  What computers with what hardware/software
  configurations and environments can the product be used with.  Will the
  product be copy protected.  What accompanying items (documentation booklets,
  artwork, etc.) will or should be considered.  What will be the size of the
  manuscript and its parts (in pages and/or bytes), the number/kind/form of
  tables/equations/figures/graphics, and will these be provided in machine-
  readable and/or camera-ready form (be specific!).  How will you address issues

  of relevant standards.
5) Competition.  What books, online services, software items, public domain
  collections, or other related products or publications are most closely
  related and how will this product compete with or supplement them.
6) What your role will be -- exactly what you will do and how it will be done
  Examples include: selecting items, editing items, making hypertext links,
  writing new materials (e.g., introduction and conclusion), adding indices and
  tables of contents, adding glossary, developing simulations, adding questions
  and answers, reorganizing existing items, adapting software, etc.  Please give

  a complete list of all parties involved with their roles: authors, editors,
  producers, etc.  Be specific, relating to the organization of the product so
  that the nature and origin of each component is clear.
7) Qualifications of the proposer. List other publications and products and
  describe background, especially related experience.  Give any other
  statements reflecting university or organizational support of this effort.
8) Time schedule for product development, production, and publication.  Include
  points at which review is possible/desired, time that product should reach mar
ket,
  plans for initial preparation, packaging, publicity, distribution, etc.
  Discuss your role and what you expect ACM or others to do in these regards.
9) Legal details -- who is the legal agent involved, what license or
  copyright or other arrangements must be dealt with
10) Financial details -- cost estimate, what is expected from ACM.  This
  should include discussion, if appropriate, of need for advances, coverage
  of time or materials, honararium or royalties, etc.

I look forward to hearing from you as we together further develop the idea and
implementation of ACM Database Products.

 - Ed Fox (BITNET: foxea@vtvax3     Internet: fox@vtopus.cs.vt.edu)
     Dr. Edward A. Fox; Dept. of Computer Science, 562 McBryde Hall
     VPI&SU (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg VA 24061; (703) 961-5113 or 6931

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Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1988  16:57 EDT
From: Peter de Jong <DEJONG%OZ.AI.MIT.EDU@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Subject: Cognitive Science Calendar [Extract - Ed.]

   Date: Wednesday, 30 March 1988  09:05-EST
   From: Dori Wells <DWELLS at G.BBN.COM>
   Re:   Language & Cognition Seminar

                       BBN Science Development Program
                     Language & Cognition Seminar Series

               COMPILATION OF TWO-LEVEL PHONOLOGICAL RULES TO
                           FINITE-STATE TRANSDUCERS

                                Lauri Karttunen
                                  Xerox PARC
                                     and
                            Center for the Study of
                        Language and Information (CSLI)
                             Stanford, University

                             BBN Laboratories Inc.
                              10 Moulton Street
                       Large Conference Room, 2nd Floor

                     10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 12, 1988



Abstract:  Recent advances  in  computational  morphology are  based  on
the discovery [Johnson  1972,  Kaplan  and  Kay  1980]  that  phonological
rewrite rules define regular relations.  A regular relation is like  a
regular set except that the elements are pairs consisting of a lexical
symbol and the corresponding surface  symbol, so, for example, N:m  (a
lexical N  realized  as  surface  m).  This  result  has  led  to  the
development of an efficient  technique for recognition and  generation
[Koskenniemi 1983, Karttunen 1983, Ritchie et al. 1985, Barton et  al.
1987] in  which the  relation of  lexical forms  to surface  forms  is
constrained by finite-state transducers.
   In this presentation, I will discuss some linguistic issues concerning the
two-level formalism proposed in Koskenniemi 1983 and the compilation of
two-level rules to finite-state transducers as described in Karttunen,
Koskenniemi, and Kaplan 1987.  The main innovation in the compilation technique
is the automatic resolution of certain types of rule conflicts.  For example,
the compiler implements the "Elsewhere Principle" and gives a specific rule
priority over a more general one without invoking any notion of rule-ordering.

References:

Barton, Edward G., Berwick, Robert, and Ristad, Sven Eric.  Computational
        Complexity and natural Language.  MIT Press.  1987.
Johnson, C. Douglas.  Formal Aspects of Phonological Description.
        Mouton. 1972.
Kaplan, Ronald M. and Kay, Martin "Phonological Rules and Finite-State
        Transducers," unpublished LSA paper. 1980.
Karttunen, Lauri .  "KIMMO:  A General Morphological Analyzer."  Texas
        Linguistic Forum 22.  Department of Linguistics, University of
        Texas, Austin, Texas.  1983
Karttunen, Lauri, Koskenniemi, Kimmo, and Kaplan, Ronald M.  "A Compiler
        for Two-Level Phonological Rules."  In Dalrymple, M. et al.  Tools
        for Morphological Analysis.  Report CSLI-87-108.  Center for the
        Study of Language and Information.  Stanford University.  1987.
Koskenniemi, Kimmo.  Two-Level Morphology:  A General Computational
        Model for Word-Form Recognition and Production.  Publication No. 11.
        Department of General Linguistics.  University of Helsinki.  1983.
Ritchie, G.D., Black, A.W., Pulman, S.G., and Russell, G.J.  Dictionary
        and Morphological Analyzer for English.  Department of Artificial
        Intelligence.  University of Edinburgh.  1985.

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END OF IRList Digest
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