13.1306, Calls: Neural Processing Workshops, Semantics & Syntax

Fri May 10 00:55:15 UTC 2002

LINGUIST List:  Vol-13-1306. Thu May 9 2002. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 13.1306, Calls: Neural Processing Workshops, Semantics & Syntax

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=================================Directory=================================

1)
Date:  Wed, 8 May 2002 04:09:21 +0100
From:  Zoubin Ghahramani <zoubin-nips at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk>
Subject:  NIPS*2002 call for workshops

2)
Date:  Sun, 05 May 2002 23:38:41 +0200
From:  Ileana Comorovski <Ileana.Comorovski at univ-nancy2.fr>
Subject:  2nd CFP Workshop - 'EXISTENCE: Semantics and Syntax', Nancy,  France

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Wed, 8 May 2002 04:09:21 +0100
From:  Zoubin Ghahramani <zoubin-nips at gatsby.ucl.ac.uk>
Subject:  NIPS*2002 call for workshops

_________________________________________________________________

		   CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
	      Neural Information Processing Systems
		      Natural and Synthetic
	            Post-Conference Workshops
		    December 13 and 14, 2002
	      Whistler/Blackcomb Resort, BC, Canada

                        http://nips.cc
_________________________________________________________________

Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing
Systems 2002 conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada, workshops on various
current topics in neural information processing will be held on
December 13 and 14, 2002, in Whistler, BC, Canada.  We invite
researchers interested in chairing one of these workshops to submit
workshop proposals.

The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for
researchers to discuss important research questions and challenges.
Controversial issues, open problems, and comparisons of competing
approaches are encouraged and preferred as workshop topics.
Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style discussions
are particularly encouraged.  Workshop topics include, but are not
limited to, the following:

Active Learning, Attention, Audition, Bayesian Analysis, Bayesian
Networks, Benchmarking, Brain Imaging, Computational Complexity,
Computational Molecular Biology, Control, Genetic Algorithms,
Graphical Models, Hippocampus and Memory, Hybrid
Supervised/Unsupervised Learning, Hybrid HMM/ANN Systems,
Implementations, Independent Component Analysis, Mean-Field Methods,
Markov Chain Monte-Carlo Methods, Music, Network Dynamics, Neural
Coding, Neural Plasticity, On-Line Learning, Optimization, Recurrent
Nets, Robot Learning, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization, Sensory
Biophysics, Signal Processing, Spike Timing, Support Vectors, Speech,
Time Series, Topological Maps, and Vision.

Detailed descriptions of previous workshops may be found at
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/Web/Groups/NIPS/NIPS2001/prevconf.html.

There will be six hours of workshop meetings per day, split into
morning and afternoon sessions, with free time in between for ongoing
individual exchange or outdoor activities.

Selected workshops may be invited to submit proceedings for
publication in the post-NIPS workshops monographs series published by
the MIT Press.

Workshop organizers have several responsibilities including:

-  Coordinating workshop participation and content, which includes
   arranging short informal presentations by experts,
   arranging for expert commentators to sit on a discussion panel,
   formulating a set of discussion topics, etc.

-  Moderating the discussion, and reporting its findings and
   conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions

-  Writing a brief summary and/or coordinating submitted material
   for post-conference electronic dissemination.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Interested parties should submit a short proposal for a workshop of
interest via email by August 9, 2002.

Proposals should include title, description of what the workshop is to
address and accomplish, proposed workshop length (1 or 2 days),
planned format (e.g., lectures, group discussions, panel discussion,
combinations of the above, etc.), and proposed speakers. Names of
potential invitees should be given where possible. Preference will be
given to workshops that reserve a significant portion of time for open
discussion or panel discussion, as opposed to pure "mini-conference"
format. An example format is:

  Tutorial lecture providing background and introducing
          terminology relevant to the topic.

  Two short lectures introducing different approaches,
  alternating with discussions after each lecture.

  Discussion or panel presentation.

  Short talks or panels alternating with discussion and
  question/answer sessions.

  General discussion and wrap-up.

We suggest that organizers allocate at least 50% of the workshop
schedule to questions, discussion, and breaks.  Past experience
suggests that workshops otherwise degrade into mini-conferences as
talks begin to run over.  For the same reason, we strongly recommend
that each workshop include no more than 12 talks per day.

The proposal should motivate why the topic is of interest or
controversial, why it should be discussed, and who the targeted group
of participants is.  It also should include a brief resume of the
prospective workshop chair with a list of publications to establish
scholarship in the field.  We encourage workshops that build,
continue, or arise from one or more workshops from previous
years. Please mention any such connections.

NIPS does not provide travel funding for workshop speakers.  In the
past, some workshops have sought and received funding from external
sources to bring in outside speakers.  In addition, the organizers of
each accepted workshop can name up to four people (six people for
2-day workshops) to receive discounted registration for the workshop
program.

Submissions should include the name, address, email address, phone and
fax numbers for all organizers.  If there is more than one organizer,
please designate one organizer as the primary contact.

Proposals should be emailed as plain text to
nips-workshop-proposal at cs.unm.edu.  Please do not use attachments,
Microsoft Word, postscript, html, or pdf files.  Questions may be
addressed to nips-workshop-admin at cs.unm.edu.

Information about the main conference and the workshop program can be
found at http://nips.cc/.

	 Barak A. Pearlmutter, University of New Mexico
	    Robert A. Jacobs, University of Rochester
		  NIPS*2002 Workshops Co-Chairs

	  PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 9, 2002

-------------------------------- Message 2 -------------------------------

Date:  Sun, 05 May 2002 23:38:41 +0200
From:  Ileana Comorovski <Ileana.Comorovski at univ-nancy2.fr>
Subject:  2nd CFP Workshop - 'EXISTENCE: Semantics and Syntax', Nancy,  France

                        CALL FOR PAPERS

*****************************************************************
                EXISTENCE : Semantics and Syntax

                     September 26-28, 2002
                         Nancy, France
*****************************************************************

The conference will be structured around two themes: i) the
interpretation of the verb "be" and of the constructions in which "be"
occurs, and ii) the existential binding of indefinites. Both themes
are related to the notion of existence and one purpose of the
conference is to explore possible connections between these
themes. The conference will center on the formal syntax and semantics
of existence, with a special session on computational treatments of
existence constructions.

INVITED SPEAKERS:

General session:

        Francis Corblin (Paris)
        Bart Geurts (Nijmegen)
        Fred Landman (Tel Aviv)
        James McCloskey (Santa Cruz)
        Barbara Partee (Amherst)

Special session:
        Patrick Blackburn (Nancy)

Abstracts are invited for 30-minute presentations (plus 10 minutes
discussion) on all subjects relevant to the conference and in
particular on the following topics:

- The semantics of "be": how many interpretations? Is there evidence
across languages that verbs which correspond to "be" have more than
one interpretation? Predication in languages which have more than one
correspondent for "be" (e.g. Spanish).

- The syntax and semantics of constructions in which "be" occurs: the
"there-be" construction (and the definiteness effect), "it is NP",
"that is NP", various copular constructions across languages; clefts
and pseudo-clefts; auxiliary "be" and auxiliary selection.

- "Be"-existentials and "have"-existentials.

- Existence and negation.

- Sources of existential binding for the variable that indefinites
introduce in the logical representation. Syntactic asymmetries with
respect to the source of existential binding (e.g. the spatio-temporal
anchoring of the sentence as binder of indefinite subjects versus
semantic incorporation for indefinite objects). If indefinites
introduce a function variable, as has been argued by some in recent
years, how is this variable bound?

- Existential presupposition and degrees of (in)definiteness.

- Computational treatment (analysis and generation) of existence
constructions.

The languages of the conference are English and French.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION:

Electronic submission is greatly encouraged. Send a two-page anonymous
abstract to:

ling at univ-nancy2.fr

Please write 'existence' in the subject heading and the following
information in the body of the message: title of paper, author's name,
affiliation, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone
number. Please specify whether the abstract is for the general session
or for the special session. Abstracts may be sent as attached files in
Word, PDF, or .ps format, or as plain text. If E-mail submission is
not possible, abstracts can be mailed to the following address:

Colloque syntaxe/semantique
Casier 286
Universite de Nancy 2
23, Bd. Albert 1er
54015 Nancy
France

Send 5 anonymous copies of your abstract and provide the full author
information on a separate card. Please limit submissions to one
individual and one joint abstract per author.

DEADLINE for receipt of abstracts: MAY 20 , 2002.

Notification of acceptance: July 1, 2002.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE:

David Beaver (Stanford), Ileana Comorovski (Nancy 2), Claire Gardent
(CNRS-Nancy), Bart Geurts (Nijmegen), Daniele Godard (CNRS-Paris 7),
Caroline Heycock (Edinburgh), Helen de Hoop (Nijmegen), Jacques Jayez
(ENS-Lyon), Georges Kleiber (Strasbourg 2), Brenda Laca (Paris 8),
James McCloskey (Santa Cruz), Haihua Pan (Hong Kong), Barbara Partee
(Amherst), Georges Rebuschi (Paris 3), Roger Schwarzschild (Rutgers),
Lucia Tovena (Lille 3), Karina Wilkinson (Rutgers), Henk Zeevat
(Amsterdam).

ORGANIZERS:

Ileana Comorovski
Dept. de Sciences du langage
Universite de Nancy 2

Claire Gardent
CNRS-Nancy
LORIA

Conference web site:
http://www.loria.fr/conferences/existence/en/index.html

Questions about the conference can be addressed to the organizers:
ileana.comorovski at univ-nancy2.fr or claire.gardent at loria.fr

*****************************************************************
                       APPEL A COMMUNICATIONS
*****************************************************************

                             EXISTENCE
                       Sémantique et Syntaxe

                       26-28 Septembre 2002
                           Nancy, France

La conférence s'articulera autour de deux grands thèmes : (i)
l'interprétation du verbe "être" et des constructions le faisant intervenir,
et (ii) le liage existentiel des indéfinis. Ces deux thèmes renvoient à la
notion d'existence et un objectif de la conférence est d'explorer les
connexions possibles entre ces thèmes. La conférence sera centrée sur la
syntaxe et la sémantique formelle de l'existence, avec une session spéciale
sur le traitement computationel des constructions existentielles.

Conférenciers invités :

Session générale :
        Francis Corblin (Paris)
        Bart Geurts (Nijmegen)
        Fred Landman (Tel Aviv)
        James McCloskey (Santa Cruz)
        Barbara Partee (Amherst)

Session spéciale :
        Patrick Blackburn (Nancy)

Nous invitons à soumettre des résumés pour des présentations de 30 minutes
(suivies de 10 minutes de discussion) dans tous les domaines pertinents et
en particulier sur les questions suivantes:
- La sémantique de "être": combien d'interprétations? Y a-t'il des données
inter-linguistiques justifiant plusieurs interprétations pour "être"?
Prédication dans les langues qui ont plus d'un équivalent pour "être" (e.g.
l'espagnol).
- La syntaxe et la sémantique de constructions dans lesquelles "être"
apparaît: "c'est SN", "ceci est SN" et autres constructions copulatives à
travers les langues; clivages et pseudo-clivages; l'auxiliaire "être" et
sélection de l'auxiliaire.
- Constructions existentielles en "être" et constructions existentielles en
"avoir".
- Existence et négation.
- Sources de liage existentiel pour la variable introduite par les indéfinis
dans la représentation logique. Asymétries syntaxiques par rapport à la
source de liage existentiel (e.g. l'ancrage spatio-temporel d'une phrase
comme lieur des sujets indéfinis versus l'incorporation sémantique des
objets indéfinis). Si, comme il l'a été proposé au cours des dernières
années, les indéfinis introduisent une variable fonctionnelle, comment cette
variable est-elle liée?
- Présupposition existentielle et degrés de (in)définitude.
- Traitement informatique (analyse et génération) des constructions
existentielles.

Les langues de la conférence seront le français et l'anglais.

SOUMISSIONS

Les soumissions électroniques sont encouragées. Les résumés de deux pages
anonymes seront envoyés à :

ling at univ-nancy2.fr

La ligne "sujet" de votre message devra spécifier le mot clé "existence"
tandis que le corps du message spécifiera les informations suivantes : titre
de l'article, nom(s) du/des auteur(s), affiliation(s), adresse(s)
postal(es), adresse(s) email et numéro(s) de téléphone. Le corps du message
spécifiera également si le résumé est soumis pour la session générale ou la
session spéciale. Les résumés seront envoyés en fichiers attachés en format
Word, PDF, .ps ou ascii.

Si la soumission électronique est impossible, le résumé peut être envoyé à
l'adresse suivante:

Colloque syntaxe/sémantique
Casier 286
Université de Nancy 2
23, Bd. Albert 1er
54015 Nancy
France

Dans ce cas, l'envoi devra contenir 5 copies anonymes du résumé. Les
informations concernant le/les auteur(s) seront fournies sur une feuille
séparée. Merci de ne pas soumettre plus d'un article co-signé et un article
seul.

DATE LIMITE de réception des propositions de communication : 20 MAI 2002

Notification aux auteurs : 1 Juillet 2002.

COMITE SCIENTIFIQUE :

David Beaver (Stanford), Ileana Comorovski (Nancy 2), Claire Gardent
(CNRS-Nancy), Bart Geurts (Nijmegen), Danièle Godard (CNRS-Paris 7),
Caroline Heycock (Edinburgh), Helen de Hoop (Nijmegen), Jacques Jayez
(ENS-Lyon), Georges Kleiber (Strasbourg 2), Brenda Laca (Paris 8), James
McCloskey (Santa Cruz), Haihua Pan (Hong Kong), Barbara Partee (Amherst),
Georges Rebuschi (Paris 3), Roger Schwarzschild (Rutgers), Lucia Tovena
(Lille 3), Karina Wilkinson (Rutgers), Henk Zeevat (Amsterdam).

ORGANISATION :

Ileana Comorovski
Dépt. de Sciences du langage
Université de Nancy 2

Claire Gardent
CNRS-Nancy
LORIA

SITE WEB : http://www.loria.fr/conferences/existence/index.html

Pour toute question concernant la conférence, merci de s'adresser aux
organisatrices : ileana.comorovski at univ-nancy2.fr ou claire.gardent at loria.fr

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