Information Retrieval List Digest 185 (October 25, 1993) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/irld/irld-185 IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 October 25, 1993 Volume X, Number 41 Issue 185 ********************************************************** I. NOTICES A. Meeting Announcements/Calls for Papers 1. Robustness Conference B. Publication Announcements 1. Multimedia Book on Scientific Visualization 2. Optical Coupling C. Miscellaneous 1. User Interface Strategies '94 (Satellite TV) ********************************************************** I. NOTICES I.A.1. Fr: Onderzoeks Instituut Taal en Spraak Re: Robustness Conference THE ROBUSTNESS OF THE LANGUAGE FACULTY: COPING WITH INCOMPLETE INFORMATION Organized by the Research Institute for Language and Speech (OTS) on the occasion of its 5th anniversary 28-30 October 1993 THEME DESCRIPTION: The human language faculty shows a remarkable robustness with respect to incomplete information. Many possible features are not realized in the signal of a normal linguistic utterance; and on the meaning side too, the interpretation is highly underdetermined by the expression itself. Yet, in the normal case, understanding is not in any way hampered by this. It may well be that the availability of knowledge from other cognitive domains contributes to the overall success, or perhaps this robustness is caused by the modular structure of the linguistic system itself. Information that disappears from one module would be compensated for via another module. The central question of this conference will be how this robustness of the language system can be explained, focusing in particular on the role of non-linguistic information and higher order redundancy. PROGRAMME Opening Wiecher Zwanenburg (Dean Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht) THEME: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Speaker: Ken Wexler (MIT) Title: `Recent developments in the modular theory of language acquisition: Parameter-setting and the underspecification of tense' Comments: Juergen Weissenborn (MPI, Nijmegen) THEME: APHASIA Speaker: Greg Dogil (Stuttgart) Title: `Coping with incomplete information in aphasia' Comments: Leo Blomert (MPI, Nijmegen) THEME: LANGUAGE PROCESSING Speaker: Michael Tanenhaus (Rochester) Title: `Toward a constraint-based framework for language processing' Comments: Louis des Tombe & Steven Krauwer (Utrecht) THEME: SIGN LANGUAGE Speaker: David Perlmutter (San Diego/Rochester) Title: `What happens when the language faculty encounters a non-natural language?' Comments: Ann Mills (Amsterdam) THEME: PARTIAL INFORMATION Speaker: Ivan Sag (Stanford) Title: `Toward a constraint-based framework for knowledge of language' Speaker: Ruth Kempson (SOAS, London) Title: `How we understand sentences. And fragments too?' Speaker: Henk Verkuyl (Utrecht) Title: `The lazy ticket controller. or: How do we manage to (under-)inform each other?' Comments: Johan van Benthem (Amsterdam) THEME: OVERDETERMINATION AND UNDERSPECIFICATION IN PHONOLOGY Speaker: Paul Kiparsky (Stanford) Title: `On the architecture of the phonological component' Speaker: Rene Kager (Utrecht) Title: `Generalized alignment and morphological parsing' Speaker: K.P. Mohanan (Singapore) Title: `The formal interpretation of robustness: Storage or processing?' Comments: Stephen Anderson (Johns Hopkins) (Academy Building, Domplein 29) Speaker: David Lightfoot (Maryland) Title: `Small causes: Big effects' THEME: PHONETIC UNDERSPECIFICATION Speaker: Bjorn Lindblom (Austin) Title: `The H&H Hypothesis' Speaker: Chris Darwin (Sussex) Title: `Separating speech from other sounds' Speaker: Stephen Anderson (Johns Hopkins) Title: to be announced Reaction & Comments: Louis Pols (Amsterdam) Title: `Vowels in context: Production and perception' THEME: CONTEXTUAL VS GRAMMATICAL CONDITIONS ON INTERPRETATION Speaker: Tanya Reinhart (Tel Aviv/Utrecht) Title: `Syntactic encoding of referential properties' Speaker: Molly Diesing (Cornell) Title: `NP types and conditions on interpretation' Speaker: James Huang (Irvine) Title: `Two types of donkey sentences' ORGANIZATION Peter Coopmans Research Institute for Language & Speech Martin Everaert Utrecht University Eric Reuland Trans 10, 3512 JK Utrecht Wim Zonneveld tel:+31-30-536006, fax:+31-30-536000, e-mail:ots@let.ruu.nl FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Robustness Organizing Committee OTS Trans 10 NL-3512 JK Utrecht The Netherlands. Tel: +31-30-536006 Fax: +31-30-536000 Email: OTS@let.ruu.nl ********** I.B.1. Fr: Cindy Peterson Re: Visualization Book/CD-ROM FIRST MULTIMEDIA BOOK ON SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION PUBLISHED BY TELOS Santa Clara, California, October 15, 1993 - TELOS (The Electronic Library of Science) announces the release of "Visualization of Natural Phenomena," the first multimedia book/CD-ROM package to achieve a high level of technology and information integration for the scientific community, by Robert S. Wolff and Larry Yaeger of Apple Computer. "Visualization of Natural Phenomena" is an integrated book/CD-ROM package which allows users to interactively explore the techniques used in scientific visualization. It is designed for a broad range of computer professionals, scientists, researchers, teachers, students, and other interested readers. Employing the image as the fundamental concept, the book covers a wide range of subjects under the broad heading of scientific visualization, including: image display and processing; image animation; video; visualization of multiparameter data; terrain rendering; 3-D solid modeling, rendering and animation; and visualization in film and TV. Practical hints on the use of commercial and public domain software in producing scientific visualization are also provided, as are discussions of the computation and production of the images used in the text. This book contains over 300 full-color images and black and white illustrations. Technical Notes contain additional technical and algorithmic discussions of the material. There is also a Special Appendix describing in detail how the book and CD-ROM were produced, and a Glossary of terms is provided in the book and on the disc. Visualization of Natural Phenomena (ISBN 0-387-97809-7) comes with a CD-ROM containing more than 100 QuickTime(tm) animations covering a wide range of visualization applications, along with explanations of the various phenomena depicted. The CD also contains public domain images, as well as Mathematica(r), NCSA, Spyglass(r), and other third-party software to supply users with a broad range of visualization examples. The CD-ROM is intended for use on Apple Macintosh equipment, and is integrated with the book through the use of an icon library for easy cross-referencing. VNP is structured so users do not have to access the CD-ROM in order to take advantage of the book's content. However, it is highly recommended that users do refer to the book and disc in tandem when working through the materials in order to fully benefit from the interactive learning experience this package provides. The recommended system requirements are: Color Macintosh(r), System 7.01 or 7.1, 8 MB RAM, 13" RGB monitor, 5 MB free hard disk space, CD-ROM drive, QuickTime 1.5 extension (included on CD-ROM) needed to play movies. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Robert S. Wolff is the Project Leader of Advanced Applications in Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group, where, since 1988, he has specialized in developing prototype environments for scientific computing. Before coming to Apple, he was a planetary astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). He has produced numerous visualizations and animations and has participated in several courses and panels on visualization at SIGGRAPH. He is currently Visualization Editor for Computers in Physics and is a Co-Investigator on the Volcanology Team on NASA's Earth Observing Systems (EOS) Mission. Dr. Wolff has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Brandeis University. Larry Yaeger's background includes computational fluid dynamics, computer graphics imaging, and neural network research. He has carried out pioneering simulations of fluid flows over the Space Shuttle and was one of the principal architects of a computer graphics rendering software at Digital Productions. Larry has contributed to the design and development of the software tools and production techniques used for special effects in several films and commercials. As a Principal Engineer in Apple's Vivarium Program, he built neural network simulators and built a system for integrating Macintosh graphics into routine film production for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now as part of the Adaptive Systems/Advanced Technology Group at Apple Computer, Inc. he is extending his character recognition work to pen-based microprocessors and is currently combining computer graphics, neural networks, and genetic algorithms to study artificial life and artificial intelligence. ABOUT TELOS TELOS is an imprint of Springer-Verlag New York, with publishing facilities at 3600 Pruneridge Avenue, Suite 200, Santa Clara, Calif. 95051. Its publishing program encompasses the natural and physical sciences, computer science, economics, mathematics, and engineering. TELOS strives to wed the traditional print medium with the emerging electronic media to provide the reader with a truly interactive multimedia information environment. All TELOS publications delivered on paper come with an associated electronic component. To order this product, please visit your local bookstore or contact Springer-Verlag at (800) 777-4643 (in New Jersey, call (201) 348-4033). Fax orders to (201) 348-4505. International customers should contact their nearest Springer-Verlag office. For information on bulk sales, please contact Mark Puma at (212) 460-1675. For information on 30-day examination copies for course adoption, please call (201) 348-4033 ext. 660. For book review copies, please contact TELOS directly at (408) 249-9314. Cindy Peterson TELOS, The Electronic Library of Science 3600 Pruneridge Avenue, Suite 200 Santa Clara, CA 95051 (408) 249-9314 FAX (408) 249-2595 Contact: TELOS, The Electronic Library of Science (408) 249-9314 ********** I.B.2. Fr: Vicki Pengelly Re: Optical Coupling NEW BBS -- OPTICAL COMPUTING Newly invented photonic transistors use holograms to replace silicon, laser light to replace electronics. Free information, hardware development tools, synthetic hologram demos. To call our BBS: (406) 273-4692 14.4 kbps. Rocky Mountain Research Center, a non-profit organization. For more information, see the Computer Applications Journal, Circuit Cellar INK, Aug. '92, page 40, and US Patent 5,093,802. This announcement is provided as a service to network users. The Rocky Mountain Research Center is not a part of The University of Montana, nor does the University take responsibility for any of the opinions or information provided through the Optical BBS. ********** I.C.1. Fr: Ben Shneiderman Re: User Interface Strategies '94 User Interface Strategies '94 A Live Satellite TV Broadcast December 14, 1993, Tuesday 11am-5pm EST University of Maryland Instructional Television Organized by Ben Shneiderman AUDIENCE: User interface designers, programmers, software engineers, interface evaluators, managers in the computing and communications fields, technical writers, human factors specialists, trainers, marketing personnel. OVERVIEW: Four leaders in the field present their perspectives on why the user interface is a central focus for expanding applications of computers in business, science, entertainment, etc. They offer their visions and suggest exciting opportunities for the next decade's developments. Demonstrations, new software tools, guiding principles, emerging theories, and future scenarios will be presented. ENROLLMENT: This symposium will be broadcast live by satellite from the University of Maryland Instructional Television System and on the National Technological University (NTU) Network. Contact your organization's training office to ask if they can arrange a satellite downlink. For further information, please contact: Professional Development Assistant University of Maryland Instructional Television System (ITV) 2104 Engineering Classroom Building College Park, MD 20742. Phone (301) 405-4905 or FAX (301) 314-9639. The downlink site license for this course is $1600; this includes permission to videotape. If you cannot watch the broadcast live or make a videotape; ITV will make a videotape for you for $1800. All videotape purchases are restricted for internal use by your organization. NEXT GENERATION GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACES BEN SHNEIDERMAN, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND The wildly popular graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are an improvement over command languages, but the next generation of user interfaces is already on the way. The aging GUIs with clumsy one-window-at-a-time housekeeping will give way to rapid, coordinated multiple windows. The future will be dynamic, spatial, 3-dimensional, virtual, ubiquitous, gestural, colorful, often auditory, and sometimes immersive. The demand for high resolution multimedia and full-motion video will push the hardware requirements, absorb network capacity, and challenge the algorithm designers. How can we balance the desire for innovation with the need for stability? Ben Shneiderman is Head of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, Professor of Computer Science, and Member of the Institute for Systems Research all at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Designing the User Interface, 2nd Edition and Software Psychology, and the co-author of the hyperbook/disk Hypertext Hands-On!. Dr. Shneiderman is the editor of Sparks of Innovation in Human-Computer Interaction, on the editorial board of 6 journals, the author of 150 technical papers, and the creator of the Hyperties hypertext system. His consultancies have included Apple, AT&T, GE, IBM, Intel, Library of Congress, NASA, and NEC. USABILITY ENGINEERING JAKOB NIELSEN, BELLCORE Usability engineering is the systematic approach to improving user interfaces by applying a set of established methods throughout the system development lifecycle. There is a large number of methods to choose from, but this presentation will focus on a small number of highly cost-effective methods that can be used by all development projects. Methods to be covered include heuristic evaluation for "quick-and-dirty" finding of usability problems at minimal cost, thinking aloud and user testing for empirical verification of usability. Across a number of projects, iterative design to remove usability problems has been found to improve measured usability by 38% per iteration as the median value. Jakob Nielsen is a member of the Computer Sciences Department in Bellcore's applied research area. Dr. Nielsen's earlier affiliations include the IBM User Interface Institute in Yorktown Heights, NY and the Technical University of Denmark. Nielsen coined the term "discount usability engineering" and was the co- inventor of the heuristic evaluation method. He is the author of the books Usability Engineering and Hypertext and Hypermedia, and on the editorial boards of five journals in the user interface and hypertext fields. Nielsen also was the papers co-chair for the joint ACM and IFIP INTERCHI'93 international conference on computer-human interaction. GROUPWARE: SUPPORTING GROUP WORK WITH TECHNOLOGY JUDY OLSON, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Most of the work we do in organizations is done as members of groups or teams. A set of software applications is emerging that is specifically built to support work groups. These include email, conferencing systems that support structured discussions among people working at different times and places, meeting rooms with linked computers and decision support software, video conferencing in meeting rooms, desktop video connections for both informal and intense encounters, and remotely linked computers for distant, real-time work. To capitalize on the benefits of this new groupware technology and avoid the pitfalls, we have to understand more about how it changes the quality of work, social interactions, and organizational processes. Judith Olson is Professor and Chair of the Computer and Information Systems Department at the Michigan Business School. She is a senior researcher in the Cognitive Science and Machine Intelligence Laboratory, where she conducts research on the behavior of groups in both face-to-face meetings with technology support, and in remote offices connected with computers and video. She has done research on user interface design and was a Technical Supervisor of human factors in systems engineering at Bell Laboratories. Prof. Olson is on the General Council of the ACM, active in the CHI conferences, on a number of editorial boards, and a consultant at major companies in the US (e.g., IBM, GM, EDS, Unisys) and Europe (e.g., Netherlands PTT, Rank/Xerox). VIRTUAL REALITY: WHERE USERS BECOME PARTICIPANTS MYRON KRUEGER, ARTIFICIAL REALITY CORP. Virtual reality is the most widely touted technology in memory. At the same time, there is reason to doubt that many people are going to be willing to wear scuba gear in the office. However, the idea of virtual reality works, even if the current technology does not. It changes how we think about the human interface and suggests new application domains as well as novel approaches to familiar problems. This talk will describe an unencumbering technology that can be used in the near term and a novel head- mounted display that will be acceptable for everyday use. Dr. Krueger pioneered the development of unencumbered full-body participation in computer-generated experiences. His VIDEOPLACE and VIDEODESK systems redefined telecommunication by placing remote participants in a shared graphic world in which they could interact naturally. His books Artificial Reality and Artificial Reality II (Addison-Wesley 1983 and 1991) were the first on virtual reality. He has received awards in both art and science, has given well over a hundred invited talks, and has been widely covered in the media. ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. Send subscription requests to: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET Send submissions to IRLIST to: IR-L@UCCVMA.BITNET Editorial Staff: Clifford Lynch calur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu or calur@uccmvsa.bitnet Nancy Gusack ncgur@uccmvsa.bitnet or ncgur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu Mary Engle meeur@uccmvsa.bitnet The IRLIST Archives is now set up for anonymous FTP, as well as via the LISTSERV. Using anonymous FTP via the host dla.ucop.edu, the files will be found in the directory pub/irl, stored in subdirectories by year (e.g., /pub/irl/1993). Using LISTSERV, send the message INDEX IR-L to LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET. 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