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gatsby.ucl.ac.uk>_________________________________________________________________ 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-proposalMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue
univ-nancy2.fr>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: lingMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue