6.1398, FYI: Zhonghua Scholarship, THE SEARCH FOR MIND/Seminar series
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Wed Oct 11 19:04:42 UTC 1995
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LINGUIST List: Vol-6-1398. Wed Oct 11 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines: 385
Subject: 6.1398, FYI: Zhonghua Scholarship, THE SEARCH FOR MIND/Seminar series
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---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 1995 13:39:37 EDT
From: weiping at cal.org (Weiping Wu)
Subject: SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION (UPDATE)
2)
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 1995 12:04:37 -0000
From: P.McKevitt at dcs.shef.ac.uk (Paul Mc Kevitt)
Subject: THE SEARCH FOR MIND (Se/an /O Nuall/ain) (EU HCM Fellow) SEMINARS @
Sheffield
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 1995 13:39:37 EDT
From: weiping at cal.org (Weiping Wu)
Subject: SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION (UPDATE)
ZHONGHUA SCHOLARSHIP (10/9/95 Update)
Following the practice from last time, answers to general
questions about ZHONGHUA SCHOLARSHIP (a brief description for the
scholarship is attached at the end of this message for those who
missed the announcement) are provided periodically as updates for
all applicants because most of the questions are similar in
nature. Those of you who have further questions should contact
Dr. Weiping Wu of WCCEC directly.
1. Duration of the scholarship:
Program A: from February 1996 to February 1997.
Program B: from February 1996 to July 1996.
2. Teaching experience:
Some teaching or tutoring experience would be a plus but not
considered as a necessary qualification for the scholarship.
3. Travel experience:
Students who have already been to China are still qualified for
the scholarship. As a matter of fact, those who have previous
experience of traveling or studying abroad are encouraged to
apply.
4. College credits:
Since this is a scholarship that requires no financial
responsibility from U.S. colleges and universities, it depends on
the individual school to decide whether or not the credits will
be accepted. It is always possible, however, to be exempted from
certain courses due to the increase of proficiency in Chinese
after living for a considerable period of time in China. Those
who would like to prove their Chinese proficiency to their home
school can take a proficiency test through WCCEC, which will also
provide an official letter in support of such an effort.
5. Factors in decision making:
Recommendations by WCCEC are made based on the student's resume
and letters of recommendation, as well as telephone interviews
with prospect candidates. Among the factors that make the
students most qualified are ability to adapt to new situations,
grades, experience, sensitivity to cultural issues, proficiency
in Chinese, and so on (not necessarily in the order in which
these factors appear). Decisions are made by the hosting
institutions in China based on the recommendations from WCCEC.
6. Chinese dialects:
Even though the immediate linguistic environment is Mandarin, it
is possible to study Cantonese or Minnan if so desired by the
participant, provided that such a request is made known upon
receiving notice of acceptance as a scholarship recipient.
7. Chinese class:
Classes will be conducted in small groups (maximum 5 people in
one class) with a focus on spoken Chinese. The language for
instruction is also Chinese, and Chinese ONLY. The Personal
Tutorial System (PTS), which is an essential part of the program,
provides a supporting system that covers the individual needs of
each student.
8. Profile for the recipients from last time:
Institutions: Carleton College, MN; Dartmouth College, NH; John
Tyler Community College, VA; Reed College, OR; San Diego State
University, CA; Wake Forest University, NC.
Majors and academic standing: Recipients are all sophomores and
above, some with BA's, majoring (some with double major) in Asian
Studies, Chinese, Economics, English, History, International
Business, and Linguistics.
Hope the answers provided above will help the applicants decide
what aspect they should highlight themselves in the resume.
Professors who are asked to write recommendation letters may also
find these answers helpful.
******************************
Weiping Wu, Ph.D.
Program Director, WCCEC
9709 Kings Crown Court, #201
FAIRFAX, VA 22031
Email: weiping at cal.org
******************************
======= Attached: ZHONGHUA SCHOLARSHIP (Description) =======
Zhonghua Scholarship is established by Cross Culture
Education Center of Washington (WCCEC) in cooperation with
educational institutions in China. It is dedicated to
English speakers who are interested in Chinese language and
culture and wish to see China with their own eyes, providing
them with the opportunity to live in China, study in China
and have a cultural tour (depending on the program) of
China. As part of the cultural exchange, recipients are
required to conduct some ESL classes for K-12 students, the
total time of which is limited to 15 hours per week.
Recipients of the scholarship are provided with the
following: International travel expenses and local travel
expenses to hosting institution in China from Hong Kong;
room and board in China; Chinese language program tailored
to fit the proficiency level of the recipients; a personal
tutor as part of the Personal Tutorial System (PTS), a
monthly stipend in local currency (equal to the monthly
salary of a university professor); and a cultural tour of
China with all expenses covered (expect meals) at the end of
the one-year program.
For further information, please contact contact the program
director (name and address provided above).
======================== End of Message =========================
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2)
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 1995 12:04:37 -0000
From: P.McKevitt at dcs.shef.ac.uk (Paul Mc Kevitt)
Subject: THE SEARCH FOR MIND (Se/an /O Nuall/ain) (EU HCM Fellow) SEMINARS @
Sheffield
*******************************************************************************
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING GROUP
IN COOPERATION WITH:
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
INSTITUTE FOR LANGUAGE, SPEECH AND HEARING (ILASH)
AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (HCM)
IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A SERIES OF SEMINARS:
*******************************************************************************
"THE SEARCH FOR MIND:
A new foundation for Cognitive Science"
by
Dr. Se/an /O Nuall/ain
from
Dublin City University (DCU)
Ireland, EU
and the
National Research Council (NRC)
Ottawa, Canada
THURSDAY, October 19th, 1995
3.00 P.M.
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING LAB. (ROOM 141)
FIRST FLOOR (1)
REGENT COURT
MAPPIN STREET
Abstract
It is a measure of the maturity of Cognitive Science that, considered
as the Science of Mind, it has developed sufficiently to be in
crisis. In this talk, the nature of this crisis is explored and a new
foundation for the discipline is proposed. The new foundation
comprises a set of new fundamental tenets with specific empirical
consequences as well as a new basic orientation in approaching the
search for mind.
The talk begins by noting the current state of Cognitive Science
i.e. its ruling paradigm and the attacks on it, both on empirical and
theoretical grounds. It proceeds to outline the main substantive
tenets of the new foundation and the evidence for them across the
disciplines which comprise Cognitive Science. Several current
controversies yield immediately to the new analysis. For example, the
tension between situated cognition and the standard
representationalist account of symbolic cognition is resolved with
appeal to two of the tenets. The first is that "egocentric" and
"intersubjective" cognition are wholly different; in general, those
who like Brooks and Gibson have been taking an anti-
representationalist line have gleaned their empirical data only 1fixed
in their hierarchical structure in real cognition; for example, the
layers of language are not stratified in the way normally proposed in
a real task. The ecological approach to Cognition with its insistence
on adaptation is assented to, with the caveat that a special set of
categories have to be introduced for symbolic behavior.
Finally, it is suggested that the interdisciplinary nature of
Cognitive Science necessitates that, in Darwinian fashion, one or
other discipline will come to the fore for a time. If the regnant
discipline is now to become neuroscience , this does not spell the end
of Cognitive Science; rather, it re-emphasizes its robust health. It
is therefore unwise for Cognitive Science to commit itself to the
methodology of one or other of its constituent disciplines. The danger
is that the mantle of "The Science of Mind" may be passed on to
another, less well-formed conceptual and administrative research
structure.
*************************************************************************
It is intended to retire to O, GRADY's pub on WEST STREET/FITZWILLIAM
ST. from 5.00 PM ('till the WEE hours).
*************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
"THE SPOKEN IMAGE SYSTEM"
by
Dr. Se/an /O Nuall/ain
from
Dublin City University (DCU)
Ireland, EU
and the
National Research Council (NRC)
Ottawa, Canada
THURSDAY, October 26th, 1995
3.00 P.M.
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING LAB. (ROOM 141)
FIRST FLOOR (1)
REGENT COURT
MAPPIN STREET
Abstract
This talk describes a project currently being undertaken at the
National Research Council, Canada, which focusses on the visual
interpretation of scene descriptions. This system accepts verbal scene
descriptions and re-constructs a three-dimensional display of the
virtual model of the world that it builds up in the process of
interpreting the input. The obvious grounding issues are discussed
with respect to the interaction of language and vision in humans.
The project also addresses itself, inter alia, to two much-discussed
topics:
** The relation between the semantics of language and vision
** The notion of symbol-grounding.
I will discuss some of the parallels and differences between the
linguistic and visual channels of perception. However, one of the
main conclusions is that the interaction of these channels for
human-computer interaction is, and should be, very different.
*******************************************************************************
"AN INTEGRATED THEORY OF
CONSCIOUSNESS AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT"
by
Dr. Se/an /O Nuall/ain
from
Dublin City University (DCU)
Ireland, EU
and the
National Research Council (NRC)
Ottawa, Canada
THURSDAY, November 9th, 1995
3.00 P.M.
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING LAB. (ROOM 141)
FIRST FLOOR (1)
REGENT COURT
MAPPIN STREET
Abstract
For a variety of reasons,Consciousness and Selfhood are beginning once
again intensively to be studied in a scientific frame of reference.
The notions of each which are emerging are extremely varied; in the
case of selfhood,the lack of an adequate vocabulary to capture various
aspects of subjectivity has led to deep confusion. The task of the
first part of this talk is to clear up this terminological confusion,
while salvaging whatever is valuable from the contemporary
discussion. The discussion in this part will inevitably range from
neuroscience to quantum mechanics to experientialism.
With this end in view, the theories of consciousness (and,where
applicable,of selfhood) offered by Baars, Jackendoff,
Minsky,Johnson-Laird, Flanagan and Penrose are looked at.Some,like the
"mental models" view,are found inadequate for formal reasons.The
others are investigated on philosophical grounds,and in the context of
the historically-conditioned nature of the related concept of
selfhood.It is found that in several cases they involve prescriptions
for the description of selfhood which are unproved and perhaps
destructive.The talk then switches to the task of giving an integrated
account of consciousness with respect to cognitive development.The
premise is that a theory of consciousness requires development.The
distinctions available to consciousness are primarily cognitive
achievements One important such distinction is that between the
subject and his world,as he conceives it.It is argued that the
cognitive function of self,as distinct from the felt experience of
self,lies in the preservation of this distinction. The more important
task of the second part is to introduce the moral issues inevitably
involved in any treatment, scientific or otherwise, of the modern
identity.
*************************************************************************
Se/an /O Nuall/ain holds an M.Sc. in Psychology from University
College, Dublin, Ireland and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Trinity
College, Dublin, Ireland. He is currently on sabbatical leave at the
National Research Council (NRC), Canada from his lecturing post at
Dublin City University, Ireland where he initiated and directed the
B.Sc. in Applied Computational Linguistics. He is the author of a
book on the foundations of Cognitive Science: "The Search for Mind"
(Ablex, 1995). He has run the first international workshop on
REACHING FOR MIND with Paul Mc Kevitt at Sheffield in April, 1995.
*************************************************************************
These seminars have been enabled through a European Union (EU) Human
Capital and Mobility (HCM) project on "Dialogue and Discourse"
(re: Sheila Williams).
*************************************************************************
For more information on this contact:
Paul Mc Kevitt
Associate Professor (Lecturer) &
British EPSRC Advanced Fellow in Information Technology
[1994-2000]
Department of Computer Science
Regent Court
211 Portobello Street
University of Sheffield
GB- S1 4DP, Sheffield
England, UK, EU.
E-mail: p.mckevitt at dcs.shef.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/ [Computer Science]
WWW: http://www.shef.ac.uk/ [Computing Services]
Ftp: ftp.dcs.shef.ac.uk [Computer Science]
Phone: +44 (0) 114-282-5572 (Office)
282-5596 (Lab.)
282-5590 (Secretary)
Fax: +44 (0) 114-278-0972
*******************************************************************************
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