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Neuron Digest   Saturday, 22 Mar 1997                Volume 97 : Issue 15

Today's Topics:
             Curse of dimensionality - new book now available
    Book Announcement: 2nd Edition Li-Vitanyi on Kolmogorov Complexity
                  Call for Workshop Proposals---NIPS*97
          Research Studentships at the Knowledge Media Institute
                   MODELING WORKSHOP: CALL FOR POSTERS
               Post-doctoral positions at Osaka University


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

Subject: Curse of dimensionality - new book now available
From:    Jiri Rojicek <rojicek@utia.cas.cz>
Organization: UTIA
Date:    Tue, 18 Mar 1997 16:17:12 +0100

I'd like to inform you about a new book dealing with the 'curse
of dimensionality'

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

Computer Intensive Methods in Control and Signal Processing
The Curse of Dimensionality
- --------------------------

      K. Warwick, University of Reading, England
      M. K=E1rny, Institute of Info. Theory, Prague, Czech Republic
(Eds.)
      0-8176-3989-6 * 1997 * $69.95 * Hardcover * 320 pages *
      47 Illustrations

For further information and ordering please visit the page:
     http://www.birkhauser.com/cgi-win/ISBN/0-8176-3989-6/

**********************************************************************
Jiri Rojicek
Ji=F8=ED Roj=ED=E8ek (in Win CP 1250)
rojicek@utia.cas.cz
http://www.utia.cas.cz/AS_dept/rojicek/
tel: +420 - 2 - 66052310
**********************************************************************

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

Subject: Book Announcement: 2nd Edition Li-Vitanyi on Kolmogorov Complexity
From:    Paul.Vitanyi@cwi.nl
Date:    Wed, 19 Mar 1997 15:37:35 +0100



Ming Li and Paul Vitanyi,
AN INTRODUCTION TO KOLMOGOROV COMPLEXITY AND ITS APPLICATIONS,
REVISED AND EXPANDED SECOND EDITION, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1997, 
xx+637 pp, 41 illus. Hardcover \$49.95/ISBN 0-387-94868-6
(Graduate Texts in Computer Science Series)

After four years and two printings the second edition has now
appeared. During the preparation the book has been out of stock for a
year. In interaction with many readers and teachers of courses and
seminars, all reported errors and problems have been corrected. The book
is revised and expanded by about 90 pages. The price has been *lowered* by
over $9.  See the web page "http://www.cwi.nl/~paulv/kolmogorov.html".

>From the ``PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION'':

When this book was conceived ten years ago, few scientists realized the
width of scope and the power for applicability of the central
ideas. Partially because of the enthusiastic reception of the first
edition, open problems have been solved and new applications have been
developed. We have added new material on the relation between data
compression and minimum description length induction, computational
learning, and universal prediction; circuit theory; distributed
algorithmics; instance complexity; CD compression; computational
complexity; Kolmogorov random graphs; shortest encoding of routing tables
in communication networks; resource-bounded computable universal
distributions; average case properties; the equality of statistical
entropy and expected Kolmogorov complexity; and so on. Apart from being
used by researchers and as reference work, the book is now commonly used
for graduate courses and seminars. In recognition of this fact, the second
edition has been produced in textbook style. We have preserved as much as
possible the ordering of the material as it was in the first edition.  The
many exercises bunched together at the ends of some chapters have been
moved to the appropriate sections.  The comprehensive bibliography on
Kolmogorov complexity at the end of the book has been updated, as have the
``History and References'' sections of the chapters.  Many readers were
kind enough to express their appreciation for the first edition and to
send notification of typos, errors, and comments. Their number is too
large to thank them individually, so we thank them all collectively.


BLURB:

Written by two experts in the field, this is the only comprehensive and
unified treatment of the central ideas and their applications of
Kolmogorov complexity---the theory dealing with the quantity of
information in individual objects.  Kolmogorov complexity is known
variously as `algorithmic information', `algorithmic entropy',
`Kolmogorov-Chaitin complexity', `descriptional complexity', `shortest
program length', `algorithmic randomness', and others.

The book is ideal for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students
and researchers in computer science, mathematics, cognitive sciences,
artificial intelligence, philosophy, statistics and physics.  The book is
self contained in the sense that it contains the basic requirements of
computability theory, probability theory, information theory, and coding.
Included are also numerous problem sets, comments, source references and
hints to the solutions of problems, course outlines for classroom use, as
well as a great deal of new material not included in the first edition.

CONTENTS:

   Preface to the First Edition  v 
   How to Use This Book  viii 
   Acknowledgments  x 
   Preface to the Second Edition  xii 
   Outlines of One-Semester Courses  xii 
   List of Figures  xix 

   1 Preliminaries  1 
   1.1  A Brief Introduction   1 
   1.2  Prerequisites and Notation   6 
   1.3  Numbers and Combinatorics   8 
   1.4  Binary Strings   12 
   1.5  Asymptotic Notation   15 
   1.6  Basics of Probability Theory   18 
   1.7  Basics of Computability Theory   24 
   1.8  The Roots of Kolmogorov Complexity   47 
   1.9  Randomness   49 
   1.10  Prediction and Probability   59 
   1.11  Information Theory and Coding   65 
   1.12  State   Symbol Complexity   84 
   1.13  History and References   86 

   2 Algorithmic Complexity  93 
   2.1  The Invariance Theorem   96 
   2.2  Incompressibility   108 
   2.3  C as an Integer Function   119 
   2.4  Random Finite Sequences   127 
   2.5  *Random Infinite Sequences   136 
   2.6  Statistical Properties of Finite Sequences   158 
   2.7  Algorithmic Properties of             167 
   2.8  Algorithmic Information Theory   179 
   2.9  History and References   185 

   3 Algorithmic Prefix Complexity  189 
   3.1  The Invariance Theorem   192 
   3.2  *Sizes of the Constants   197 
   3.3  Incompressibility   202 
   3.4  K as an Integer Function   206 
   3.5  Random Finite Sequences   208 
   3.6  *Random Infinite Sequences   211 
   3.7  Algorithmic Properties of             224 
   3.8  *Complexity of Complexity   226 
   3.9  *Symmetry of Algorithmic Information   229 
   3.10  History and References   237 

   4 Algorithmic Probability  239 
   4.1  Enumerable Functions Revisited   240 
   4.2  Nonclassical Notation of Measures   242 
   4.3  Discrete Sample Space   245 
   4.4  Universal Average-Case Complexity   268 
   4.5  Continuous Sample Space   272 
   4.6  Universal Average-Case Complexity, Continued   307 
   4.7  History and References   307 

   5 Inductive Reasoning  315 
   5.1  Introduction   315 
   5.2  Solomonoff's Theory of Prediction   324 
   5.3  Universal Recursion Induction   335 
   5.4  Simple Pac-Learning   339 
   5.5  Hypothesis Identification by Minimum Description Length   351 
   5.6  History and References   372 

   6 The Incompressibility Method  379 
   6.1  Three Examples   380 
   6.2  High- Probability Properties   385 
   6.3  Combinatorics   389 
   6.4  Kolmogorov Random Graphs   396 
   6.5  Compact Routing   404 
   6.6  Average-Case Complexity of Heapsort   412 
   6.7  Longest Common Subsequence   417 
   6.8  Formal Language Theory   420 
   6.9  Online CFL Recognition   427 
   6.10  Turing Machine Time Complexity   432 
   6.11  Parallel Computation   445 
   6.12  Switching Lemma   449 
   6.13  History and References   452 

   7 Resource-Bounded Complexity  459 
   7.1  Mathematical Theory   460 
   7.2  Language Compression   476 
   7.3  Computational Complexity   488 
   7.4  Instance Complexity   495 
   7.5     Kt  Complexity and Universal Optimal Search   502 
   7.6  Time-Limited Universal Distributions   506 
   7.7  Logical Depth   510 
   7.8  History and References   516 

   8 Physics, Information, and Computation  521 
   8.1  Algorithmic Complexity and Shannon's Entropy   522 
   8.2  Reversible Computation   528 
   8.3  Information Distance   537 
   8.4  Thermodynamics   554 
   8.5  Entropy Revisited   565 
   8.6  Compression in Nature   583 
   8.7  History and References   586 

   References  591 
   Index  618 

If you are seriously interested in using the text in the course, contact
Springer-Verlag's Editor for Computer Science, Martin Gilchrist, for a
complimentary copy.

     Martin Gilchrist                   marting@springer-sc.com
     Suite 200, 3600 Pruneridge Ave.    (408) 249-9314
     Santa Clara, CA 95051

If you are interested in the text but won't be teaching a course, we
understand that Springer-Verlag sells the book, too.  To order, call
toll-free 1-800-SPRINGER (1-800-777-4643); N.J.  residents call
201-348-4033. For information regarding examination copies for course
adoptions, write Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. , 175 Fifth Avenue, New
York,NY 10010.  You can order through the Web site:
"http://www.springer-ny.com/"

For U.S.A./Canada/Mexico- e-mail: orders@springer-ny.com or fax an order
form to: 201-348-4505.  For orders outside U.S.A./Canada/Mexico send this
form to: orders@springer.de Or call toll free: 800-SPRINGER - 8:30 am to
5:30 pm ET (that's 777-4643 and 201-348-4033 in NJ). Write to
Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10010.

Visit your local scientific bookstore. Mail payments may be made by check,
purchase order, or credit card (see note below). Prices are payable in
U.S.  currency or its equivalent and are subject to change without
notice. Remember, your 30-day return privilege is always guaranteed!

Your complete address is necessary to fulfill your order.


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

Subject: Call for Workshop Proposals---NIPS*97
From:    Michael Jordan <jordan@psyche.mit.edu>
Date:    Thu, 20 Mar 1997 15:58:03 -0500


                          CALL FOR PROPOSALS

                   NIPS*97 Post Conference Workshops
                         December 5 and 6, 1997
                         Breckenridge, Colorado


Following the regular program of the Neural Information Processing Systems
1997 conference, workshops on current topics in neural information processing
will be held on December 5 and 6, 1997, in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Proposals 
by qualified individuals interested in chairing one of these workshops are
solicited.  Past topics have included:

   Active Learning, Architectural Issues, Attention, Audition, Bayesian 
   Analysis, Bayesian Networks, Benchmarking, Computational Complexity, 
   Computational Molecular Biology, Control, Neuroscience, Genetic Algorithms, 
   Grammars, Hybrid HMM/ANN Systems, Implementations, Music, Neural Hardware,
   Network Dynamics, Neurophysiology, On-Line Learning, Optimization,
   Recurrent Nets, Robot Learning, Rule Extraction, Self-Organization,
   Sensory Biophysics, Signal Processing, Symbolic Dynamics, Speech,
   Time Series, Topological Maps, and Vision.

The goal of the workshops is to provide an informal forum for researchers to
discuss important issues of current interest.  There will be two workshop
sessions a day, for a total of six hours, with free time in between for
ongoing individual exchange or outdoor activities.

Concrete open and/or controversial issues are encouraged and preferred as
workshop topics.  Representation of alternative viewpoints and panel-style
discussions are particularly encouraged.

Workshop organizers will have responsibilities including:

1) coordinating workshop participation and content, which involves 
   arranging short informal presentations by experts working in an area, 
   arranging for expert commentators to sit on a discussion panel and 
   formulating a set of discussion topics, etc.

2) moderating or leading the discussion and reporting its high points,
   findings, and conclusions to the group during evening plenary sessions

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


Submission Instructions
- -----------------------

Interested parties should submit via e-mail a short proposal for a workshop 
of interest by May 20, 1997.  

Proposals should include a title, a description of what the workshop is to 
address and accomplish, the proposed length of the workshop (one day or two 
days), the planned format (mini-conference, panel discussion, or group 
discussion, combinations of the above, etc), and the proposed number of 
speakers.  Where possible, please also indicate potential invitees 
(particularly for panel discussions).  Please note that this year we 
are looking for fewer "mini-conference" workshops and greater variety of 
workshop formats.  The time allotted to workshops is six hours each 
day, in two sessions of three hours each.  We strongly encourage that the 
organizers reserve a significant portion of time for open discussion.

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.  
In addition, please send a brief resume of the prospective workshop chair, 
a list of publications, and evidence of scholarship in the field of interest.
Submissions should include contact name, address, e-mail address, phone 
number and fax number if available.

Proposals should be mailed electronically to mpp@watson.ibm.com.  All 
proposals must be RECEIVED by May 20, 1997.  If e-mail is unavailable, mail
so as to arrive by the deadline to:

  NIPS*97 Workshops 
  c/o Steven J. Nowlan
  Motorola, Lexicus Division
  3145 Porter Drive
  Palo Alto, CA 94304

Questions may be addressed to either of the Workshop Co-Chairs:

Steven J. Nowlan                        Richard Zemel
Motorola, Lexicus Division              University of Arizona
steven@lexicus.mot.com                  zemel@aruba.ccit.arizona.edu



            PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 20, 1997

                           -Please Post-

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

Subject: Research Studentships at the Knowledge Media Institute
From:    Marco Ramoni <M.Ramoni@open.ac.uk>
Date:    Fri, 21 Mar 1997 18:34:25 +0000


RESEARCH STUDENTSHIPS at the KNOWLEDGE MEDIA INSTITUTE

The Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) is home to internationally recognised
researchers in Educational Multimedia, Collaboration Technologies,
Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, and Human-Computer Interaction.
KMi offers students an intellectually challenging environment with
exceptional research and computer facilities. We are currently seeking
applications for full-time, 3-year research studentships in the following
areas:

- - Migratory Interfaces and Mobile Computing
- - Virtual Intelligence and Knowledge Discovery
- - Knowledge Management and Knowledge Modelling
- - Sharing and Reusing Design Knowledge over the WWW

Applicants are typically expected to have a degree in computer science,
artificial intelligence, cognitive science, psychology, or a related
discipline. As KMi only accepts a very small number of research students
per year, admission is highly competitive. To apply, send a CV and short
project proposal (3 pages) along with a completed application form.
Successful candidates must be willing to live within reasonable commuting
distance from Milton Keynes, and be available to start on October 1, 1997.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the KMi web site
(http://kmi.open.ac.uk/studentships) for more information on ongoing KMi
projects and the studentships.

An application form with further particulars can be obtained by contacting
Ms. Ortenz Rose by email (O.Rose@open.ac.uk), telephone  (+44  (1908) 653
800) or post (Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University, Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK). Informal advice on these studentships can be
obtained by contacting Dr. Tamara Sumner, admissions co-ordinator, by email
at T.Sumner@open.ac.uk or by telephone at the number above.

Closing date for applications: 18 April 1997

Further particulars are attached below.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Migratory Interfaces:
Design Issues for Next-Generation Networked Applications

Tamara Sumner (KMi) & Josie Taylor (IET)
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~tamara

The New Challenge: Migratory Interfaces
Within the next ten years, a new model of software will arise from the
confluence of two current paradigms - networked applications and mobile
computing. As a result, users will be able to interact with a given
application across a wide range of computer devices. For instance, imagine
a reader of an on-line journal. This reader will want to read her on-line
journal in multiple contexts - at work on her desktop computer, at home on
her web TV, in the cafe using her personal digital assistant, or at an
information centre on an ultra-large display. To support the needs of this
mobile journal user, the application interface will need to seamlessly
migrate across a wide range of computer devices, with extremely varied
display sizes, screen resolutions, multimedia support, and input/output
capabilities. Currently, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research is
focused on hand-crafting optimal interfaces for a single context, typically
for a basic desktop system. However, creating useful and usable migratory
interfaces raises many design issues that do not exist in the single
context arena. Fundamental research, that is well-grounded in concrete
applications, is needed to investigate key issues, specifically:

- - How must migratory systems be internally structured to enable
applications to dynamically reconfigure themselves for each device?
- - What user-centred, design heuristics will guide this dynamic
reconfiguration of the interface (e.g., what minimal amount of vital
information is required, how can recognisable context be preserved across
devices)?
- - Can these heuristics be generalised and encoded to enable systems to
automatically accommodate unexpected devices (versus hand-crafting for each
device)?

Research Context
The web-based Journal of Interactive Media in Education (Jime), published
by KMi, could provide a concrete context for the proposed research agenda.
Jime is an acknowledged leader in electronic journals technology, recently
receiving a Charlesworth Group award recognising its innovative interface
and interactive capabilities. As discussed above, the domain of electronic
journals provides a natural area for researching migratory interfaces. To
ensure that the results are generalisable, other innovative networked
applications (e.g., KMi Stadium) currently being developed at KMi may also
be examined.

Experience Jime at http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/jime

For more information on this studentship, contact Dr. Sumner at
T.Sumner@open.ac.uk.

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

Virtual Intelligence and Knowledge Discovery

Marco Ramoni (KMi)
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~marco

The Virtual Intelligence Project and the Knowledge Discovery Project at the
Knowledge Media Institute seek a candidate PhD student to work at the
intersection of their areas of research. The Virtual Intelligence Project
focuses on the development of distributed Artificial Intelligence
applications over the World Wide Web. The Knowledge Discovery Project
investigates probabilistic and statistical methods to extract reusable
knowledge sources from databases. The PhD project will fall into their
joint effort to develop a distributed knowledge discovery architecture over
the World Wide Web. The successful candidate will be able to choose a
research topic among a variety of key issues underlying this research,
ranging from methodological aspects of knowledge extraction and distributed
artificial intelligence to design and development issues of the
architecture.

More information on the Virtual Intelligence Project is available at:
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~marco/projects/wai/vip

More information on the Knowledge Discovery Project is available at:
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~marco/projects/kdd

For more information on this studentship, contact Marco Ramoni at
M.Ramoni@open.ac.uk.

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

Sharing and Reusing Design Knowledge over the Web

Zdenek Zdrahal (KMi) and Enrico Motta (KMi)
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~zdenek

Design is about constructing artifacts. Designing complex artifacts
requires collaboration of designers specialized in various areas. Nowadays,
the designers must often collaborate across large geographical boundaries.
The WWW supplies a new medium for supporting inovative forms of
collaboration between remote partners. The PhD project will be focused on
either of the following two problems:

- - Collaboration of two or more designers working in the same area. In
particular, we are interested in reusing and sharing cases - existing
solutions to similar problems. Case-based reasoning is a common design
practice. However, sharing cases among different designs presents an
interpretation problem, as the designers may describe their solutions using
different terminology. It is therefore necessary to develop a common domain
ontology shared over the Web.

- - Collaboration of designers working on the same project in different but
related areas. Since the designers work to some extent independently, their
solutions may result in conflicts. The task is to identify and resolve the
conflicts.

Publications on related projects in case-based reasoning and intelligent
web agents are available at:
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~zdenek/zz-publications.html#Case-based-reasoning
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~zdenek/zz-publications.html#Agents-and-the-web

There is also a small demonstration of the Franz Lift configuration design
system illustrating the potential of the WWW at
http://skinner.open.ac.uk:3001/vt-web-page.

For more information on this studentship, contact Dr. Zdrahal at
Z.Zdrahal@open.ac.uk.

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

Applying Knowledge Modelling Techniques to Knowledge Management

Enrico Motta (KMi) and Simon Buckingham Shum (KMi)
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~enrico

The radical changes which are affecting society (information revolution,
globalization of the market place, move to a skill-intensive,
service-oriented economy) have dramatically increased the importance of
so-called knowledge assets in today's enterprise.  A knowledge asset can be
characterised informally as knowledge which provides economic value to a
company.  This knowledge can reside in an employee's head or can be
explicitly codified in a company's organisational knowledge base.  In this
new world traditional tools for accounting, organisational analysis, and
management are not sufficient anymore to make sense of organisational
processes and for managing a company.  New techniques are needed, which
centre on knowledge modelling and knowledge management.  Knowledge
modelling is the process of representing certain competencies of a
knowledge-based agent.  This can be in theory any problem solving entity,
from a single person, to a team of people, to a computer program.
Knowledge Management is the process of building and evaluating models of an
organisation's use of knowledge, in order to make appropriate
interventions.  Needless to say, knowledge management is an
interdisciplinary field which draws from research in artificial
intelligence, cognitive science, and business studies.

The Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) comprises world leading research groups
in knowledge technologies (e.g. knowledge modelling, knowledge-based
systems), interactive learning media, and collaborative computing.
Moreover, the successful applicant will benefit from our links with the
Open University Business School.  Thus, we can provide a very good
environment for carrying out research in these areas.  Specifically, we are
interested in the research projects listed below.  These are of course only
meant to provide possible research directions and should not be seen as
defining a 'closed list'.

- - One particular subset of knowledge management research looks at
Intellectual Capital.  This refers to the intangible assets owned by an
organisation.  The goal of this project is to build an ontology (i.e. a
reusable modelling schema) supporting the modelling of intellectual capital
resources in an organisation.  This project should provide a reusable
resource for the knowledge management community and the basis for
methodologies and tools for acquiring and valuing intellectual capital.

- - A methodology for knowledge management must be based on some kind of
representation template for individual knowledge assets.  The goal of this
project is to develop a modelling schema which can account for various
aspects of a knowledge item in an organisation (e.g. the temporal aspects
of knowledge in an organisation, the scope of applicability of chunks of
knowledge, the medium in which knowledge is represented, etc.).  Such a
representation schema will provide the basic building block to support
sophisticated knowledge analysis activities.

- - A number of modelling techniques exist for analysing organisations.
These techniques have been drawn from business studies, software
engineering, artificial intelligence, and information theory.  This project
should examine the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches
and produce an integrating framework which could provide a basis for a
methodology for knowledge management.

Additional Information
Useful information on the application of artificial intelligence techniques
to knowledge management can be found at http://ksi.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/AIKM97/

Organisational Knowledge Media: http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~simonb/org-knowledge/

For more information on this studentship, contact Enrico Motta at
E.Motta@open.ac.uk.


______________________________________________________________________________
Marco Ramoni
Knowledge Media Institute          Phone: +44-1908-65-5721
The Open University                Fax:   +44-1908-65-3169
Walton Hall                        Email: M.Ramoni@open.ac.uk
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA              URL:   http://kmi.open.ac.uk/~marco
UNITED KINGDOM                     CUSeeMe: 137.108.81.18



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

Subject: MODELING WORKSHOP: CALL FOR POSTERS
From:    Giovanni Parmigiani <gp@stat.Duke.EDU>
Date:    Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:01:37 -0500




======================================================================
     CALL FOR POSTERS -- CALL FOR TRAVEL FUNDING APPLICATIONS
======================================================================
       
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   WORKSHOP ON STOCHASTIC MODEL BUILDING AND VARIABLE SELECTION
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
         Duke university, Durham, NC,  October 9-10, 1997 
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------



GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP

Advances  in   statistical methodology  and   computing   are  opening
opportunities for statistical  analysis and  modeling of complex  data
sets.  In  this endeavor, it  is  becoming  increasingly common to use
computer-based tools for guiding the initial specification of the main
features  of statistical    models.  Recently, a   new  generation  of
stochastic algorithms has  been emerging as  an important augmentation
to traditional  deterministic strategies. Examples  include stochastic
search methods for variable  selection, graphical models, selection of
variable transformations and  interactions, wavelet thresholding, ARMA
modeling, CART, MARS, neural networks, data mining and more.  The goal
of the workshop is to promote interaction between researchers involved
in diverse aspects of this field. 


PROGRAM 

The program  of  the Workshop   will  include both  talks  and  poster
presentations.  The talks will be invited, and  will be organized in 5
or 6 sessions, each  including  2 or 3  related presentations.   Ample
time will be allowed for  floor discussion.  No parallel sessions will
be planned, to encourage interaction among participants with different
interests  and background. The meeting  will run from Thursday morning
October  9 to Friday afternoon,   October 10, 1997.  A poster  session
open  to contributors will  take place  the evening of  October 9, and
will also provide a venue for further informal interaction. 

Further details about the Workshop are available at the www site 
        http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/GP97/vs97.html 
The site will  be updated as soon as  more detailed information  about
the program and participants becomes available. 

This  Workshop  is     part  of  STATISTICS     WEEK 1997   at    Duke
University. Participants may be interested in the other meetings: 
         * THE 1997 NBER/NSF TIME SERIES SEMINAR (Oct 10-11) 
         * WORSKHOP ON WAVELETS AND STATISTICS   (Oct 12-13) 
Further details are available at 
           http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/fall97.html


CALL FOR POSTERS

We are  actively seeking presentations for  the poster session.  These
are some of the relevant topics for discussion at the workshop: 

  Stochastic versus deterministic search for variable selection.
  Modelling, elicitation and calibration issues.

  Graphical models, causal modelling, large data bases, visualization,
  data-mining and other topics in artificial intelligence.

  Selection of transformations and interactions, generalized linear
  models, generalized additive models, neural networks. Model choice
  and variable selection issues in clustering and hierarchical models.
  Partition models. 

  Stochastic CART and MARS.

  Computing issues and algorithms. MCMC Jump diffusion. Bayes factors
  and marginal model probability calculations. Stochastic annealing. 

  Case studies from any field of applications.

  Decision analysis and utility in variable selection and modelling
  problems. Modelling the cost of variables. Computing algorithms.  

  Time Series and Wavelets 


REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL SUPPORT

The Workshop organizers have applied for an NSF Group Travel Grant for
participants  from the  USA    to attend  the Workshop.    Interactive
registration and grant application forms are available at the www site 

        http://www.isds.duke.edu/conferences/GP97/vs97.html


PROCEEDINGS

A World  Wide Web version  of the proceedings  of the Workshop will be
created at the  ISDS www site.  Papers will  be made available as soon
as  the link information is  sent to us.   Instructions for submission
are posted on the workshop site. 



        We look forward to seeing you at the Workshop.

        The Organizing Committee: 
        
        John Geweke, 
        Giovanni Parmigiani (Chair)
        Mike West 


        The Program Committee: 
        
        David Draper,
        John Geweke, 
        David Madigan,
        Giovanni Parmigiani,
        Mike West 




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

Subject: Post-doctoral positions at Osaka University
From:    miz@ei.sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp (Riichiro Mizoguchi)
Date:    Sun, 23 Mar 1997 02:00:18 +0900

Post-doctoral positions at Osaka University, Japan

One or two research Post-doctoral positions will be available in The
Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University from July
or August, 1997. They are associated with a project which has been
informally aproved to be set up under the supervision of me, Riichiro
Mizoguchi.

The title of the project is "AI-based methodology for cooperative
synthesis(design)" The positions are based on a one year-term-based
contract which could be extended with negotiation.

The more expericened applicants are in the following items, the higher they
are appreciated:

*AI in design
*Ontology and Knowledge-based systems
*Qualitative modeling and reasoning
*AI programming in Lisp

The current topics we have include

(1) Function and behavior modeling and functional understanding of artifacts
(2) Redesign support system and value engineering
(3) Systematization/organization of knowledge for synthesis based on
ontology engineering

Interested applicants should send their CVs to Riichiro Mizoguchi. Visit to
our home page is recommended.

URL: http://www.ei.sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp/


Cheers,
Riichiro Mizoguchi
Prof. of Osaka University


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Best wishes,            Riichiro Mizoguchi
Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University
8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka, 567 Japan
Phone:  +81-6-879-8415(Dial-in)
Fax:    +81-6-879-2126(Urgent)    +81-6-879-2123(for large volume)
URL: http://www.ei.sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp/
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End of Neuron Digest [Volume 97 Issue 15]
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