[Multiple], 'Newsletter Section', Psycoloquy 941023 URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/psycoloquy/psycol-941023-[multiple]-newsletter PSYCOLOQUY ISSN 1055-0143 Tue, 22 Nov 94 Newsletter Section (1) Conference: Dynamics & Representation, Dec 9-10 '94, Spain (2) Conference: Deficits in Perception, Jan 24-27 '95, Netherlands (3) Conference: Child Language Research Forum, Apr 7-9 '95, Stanford (4) Conference: The Evolution of Complexity, May/Jun '95, Brussels (5) Conference: Pyschophysics, Oct 21-24 '95, Cassis, France ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Arantza Etxeberria Agiriano ylbetaga@SF.EHU.ES Subject: (1) Conference: Dynamics & Representation, Dec 9-10 '94, Spain Workshop Announcement and Programme On the Role of Dynamics and Representation in Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition DRABC'94 Palacio de Miramar, San Sebastian, The Basque Country, Spain December 9th (Friday) and 10th (Saturday) 1994 Host Institution: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Faculty of Informatics and Faculty of Philosophy * Department of Architecture and * Department of Logic and Computer Technology Philosophy of Science * Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence * Department of Languages and Information Systems Sponsored by: Kutxa de Gipuzkoa, The Basque Country Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa, The Basque Country DIGCYT, Madrid, Spain Directors: Tim Smithers and Alvaro Moreno, University of the Basque Country 0.0 Introduction Recent developments make the subjects of cognition and adaptive behaviour exciting and fast moving. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the following questions: Is adaptive behaviour in agents a matter of getting the representations right, or is it a matter of getting the dynamics right? Is a proper understanding of cognition to be had in terms of the processing of mental representations, or will it be in terms of complex dynamical systems? Or should we be expecting to use both concepts of dynamical systems and representation in our investigations of adaptive behaviour and cognition? And what does it mean to get either the representations or the dynamics right, or both, if that's what is required? It will bring together an international group of leading researchers who are actively engaged in this `new wave.' It will be dedicated to a presentation and a lively discussion of the current status of the concepts of dynamical systems and representation in adaptive behaviour and cognition, the nature of the different positions being developed, and the future directions and prospects for a better understanding of adaptive behaviour and cognition. It will provide an important and timely opportunity for both new and established researchers in adaptive behaviour and cognition to gain an up-to-date and deeper appreciation of some of the most fundamental questions currently being asked and of the exciting new approaches being developed in adaptive behaviour and cognition. 1.0 Organisation The workshop will be organised as six Working Sessions involving all the invited speakers--forming a panel--plus four open Poster Sessions, involving all participants: three Working Sessions per day and two Poster Sessions per day. Each Working Session (except number six, see below) will aim to cover a particular theme, and will consist of two presentations by two of the invited speakers, each lasting half an hour (no more), then a short response statement (of 15 mins) by one other invited speaker, followed by an open discussion involving all the invited speakers, and, later, others from the attending audience. The purpose of each presentation is to identify key issues and aspects of the role of representation and dynamics in adaptive behaviour and cognition, and to identify different approaches and characterisations. To encourage discussion speakers will be urged to err on the side of the polemical. The role of the responder is to propose some points for discussion by identifying differences, commonalities, difficulties, inconsistencies, advantages, disadvantages, points of disagreement, etc., as they see them, in the two presentations of the session. Each Working session will be run by a moderator, and will last between two and two an a quarter hours--there is 15 mins of "Sponge Time" at the end of each session which will be used (if necessary) to find an appropriate end to any ongoing discussion. The final Working Session, number six, will start with a summary of the workshop and continue with a general discussion session. It will be used to raise issues and questions left behind from previous sessions, and which are worth a discussion. Participants will be invited to suggest subjects for discussion in this session during the workshop. The four Poster Sessions will be `open sessions'. It is not intended that all poster owners be present at their poster for all the time in all the sessions. Rather we expect a degree of self-organisation to take place whereby interested parties will identify each other and arrange times to meet and talk during these Poster Sessions, and perhaps at other times. In the next section the proposed themes of the first five Working Sessions are briefly described and the proposed speakers, responders, and moderators identified. Following this is the proposed full timetable for the workshop. To end, there are some comments about some practical matters, in particular, food. 2.0 Working Sessions Session I - Understanding Cognition Speaker 1 : Tim van Gelder Speaker 2 : Andy Clark Responder : Tim Smithers Moderator : Alvaro Moreno Session II - Building Cognition Speaker 1 : Rod Brooks Speaker 2 : Mark Bickard Responder : Rolf Pfeifer Moderator : Javier Torrealdea Session III - Dynamics in Neuronal Systems Speaker 1 : Agnessa Babloyantz Speaker 2 : Grego Schoner Responder : Randy Beer Moderator : Julio Fernandez Session IV - The Dynamics and Evolution of Adaptive Behaviour Speaker 1 : Randall Beer Speaker 2 : Dave Cliff Responder : Mark Bickhard Moderator : Arantza Etxeberria Session V - Dynamics and Representation in Situated Embodied Agents Speaker 1 : Rolf Pfeifer Speaker 2 : Tim Smithers Responder : Rod Brooks Moderator : Jesus Iban~ez 3.0 Registrations Registration should be made by completing the form below and Emailing it to sfrbizia@si.ehu.es, with `Registration' on the subject line. All registrations (and payments) must be received before midnight on Friday 2 December, 1994! Contact address for any communications by post: Tim Smithers Universidad del Pais Vasco OR Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea Facultad de Informatica Informatika Fakultatea Apartado 649 649 Postakutxa 20080 San Sebastian 20080 Donostia Pais Vasco Euskal Herria Spain Espainia ------------------------------ From: weber@NICI.KUN.NL (Hil Weber) Subject: (2) Conference: Deficits in Perception, Jan 24-27 '95, Netherlands Announcement Winterschool on 'Deficits in Perception' Nijmegen, The Netherlands January 24 - 27, 1995. The Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information invites PhD-students and Postdocs in the area of Perception to attend a 4-days Winterschool on 'Deficits in Perception'. Some of the topics: * Modularity in the Visual System * Colour Processing * Prosopagnosia * Recognition and Naming * Unilateral visual neglect: An overview * Unilateral visual neglect: Recent accounts and theories * Visual Agnosia, Category - specific recognition disorders * Computational models of neuropsychological disorders of vision * Migraine phosphenes and flicker scotoma; deficits caused by cortical hyperactivation, inactivation and spreading depression * Visual and tactile hemineglect following parietal lobe lesions in man * Light in the dark: Phosphenes, "phantastische Gesichts erscheinungen" visual pseudohallucinations and hallucinations * Brain structures for averbal social communication and symptoms caused by lesions in such structures (prosopagnosia etc.) * Perceptual and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia Lecturers are: Prof. dr. O. Grusser (Berlin, Germany) Prof. dr. E. Poppel (Julich, Germany) Dr. J. Davidoff (Colchester, Essex, England) Prof. dr. G. Humphreys (Birmingham, England) Prof. dr. E. de Haan (Utrecht, The Netherlands) will lead the general discussion at the end of the course. This Winterschool is the first of a series of PhD Euroconferences, which is supported by the Commission of the European Communities via the Human Capital and Mobility Fund. No entrance fee will be asked for PhD students and young researchers for this Winterschool. Participants have to take care of their own travel and living expenses. For a limited number of PhD-students a modest financial support can be provided for living and travel expenses. Maximum number of participants: 90. Deadline for registration: November 15, 1994. On request an application form will be provided. The administration can mediate in finding appropriate accommodation. Correspondence: Dr. E. Leeuwenberg NICI University of Nijmegen P.O. Box 9104 6500 HE Nijmegen The Netherlands Telephone: +31 80 612620 (Mrs. Hil Weber, secretary NICI) Fax: +31 80 615938 E-mail: weber@nici.kun.nl ------------------------------ From: Eve Clark Subject: (3) Conference: Child Language Research Forum, Apr 7-9 '95, Stanford 27th STANFORD CHILD LANGUAGE RESEARCH FORUM STANFORD UNIVERSITY, APRIL 7-9, 1995 The 27th annual meeting of the Child Language Research Forum will be held on April 7-9, 1995, at Stanford University. The Organizing Committee welcomes abstracts for papers and posters on any topic within first language acquisition, from metrical studies of first word production to sociolinguistic studies of conversational fillers, from studies of adult input on spatial relations to what determines children's choices of pronoun forms, or from the development of scope relations in syntax to crosslinguistic studies of modality. Abstract submissions should include: --Ten (10) copies of a ONE-PAGE, double-spaced abstract of the paper or poster, preferably in 12-point font or type, with a title. OMIT name and affiliation. (All reviewing is anonymous.) --A 3" by 5" card with the title of the paper, the name(s) of the author(s), affiliation, mailing address, and email address; please also specify any necessary AV equipment. We can provide projectors for slides or transparencies ONLY if we know what you will need. Indicate whether you are submitting a paper or a poster. (The Committee reserves the right to re-assign your submission.) --A self-addressed, stamped postcard if you wish to be notified that your abstract has been received. Abstracts should be postmarked by January 10, 1995. PLEASE MAIL EARLY! No late abstracts will be accepted. Abstract Preparation Guidelines: All research must be completed (ie. no promissory abstracts). No papers already presented at other conferences will be accepted. Only one paper per author or co-author will be accepted, although abstracts for more than one paper may be submitted. Abstracts should contain: a statement of the hypothesis, a brief account of the study performed, data and results, and a summary of the conclusions reached. Abstracts and any enquiries should be sent to: CLRF-95 Stanford University Department of Linguistics Building 460 Stanford, CA 94305-2150, USA (Inquiries may also be made via telephone to 415 723-4284.) The Proceedings of the 26th Child Language Research Forum (1994) are being published by the Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford, and will be available from Cambridge University Press in January 1995. As of that date, the Proceedings of previous CLRF meetings published by CSLI will also be available from the same source. Look for CUP's Spring Catalogue for 1995. ------------------------------ From: heyligh@VNET3.VUB.AC.BE (Francis Heylighen) Subject: (4) Conference: The Evolution of Complexity, May/Jun '95, Brussels Symposium : THE EVOLUTION OF COMPLEXITY Evolutionary and cybernetic foundations for transdisciplinary integration as part of the conference: Einstein meets Magritte: An interdisciplinary reflection on science, nature, human action and society May 29 / June 3, 1995 at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium About the Symposium: A symposium organized by the Principia Cybernetica Project (PCP) will be held at "Einstein meets Magritte", a large interdisciplinary conference at the Free University of Brussels. The theme is the contribution that theories of evolution and self-organization, on the one hand, and systems theory and cybernetics, on the other hand, can make to the development of an integrated world view. The basic idea underlying PCP is that evolution leads to the spontaneous emergence of systems of higher and higher complexity or "intelligence": from elementary particles, via atoms, molecules, living cells, multicellular organisms, plants, and animals to human beings, culture and society. The development of these systems can be understood with the help of concepts such as self-organization, selection, adaptation, variety, chaos, hierarchy, autonomy, control, cognition, and metasystem transition. This perspective makes it possible to unify knowledge from presently separate disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, sociology, etc. We thus wish to revive the transdisciplinary tradition of General Systems Theory, by adding recently developed insights around evolution and complexity. The resulting scientific/philosophical framework should provide us with an answer to the basic questions: "Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going to?" After the organization of symposia at the 8th World Congress of Systems and Cybernetics (New York, 1990), the 13th Int. Congress on Cybernetics (Namur, 1992), the 12th European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research (Vienna, 1994), and the 1st Workshop of the Principia Cybernetica Project (Brussels, 1991), this will be the fifth official meeting of the Principia Cybernetica Project. Submission of papers Send a 1 to 2 page abstract, with references, to F. Heylighen (preferably by email). Deadline: February 1, 1995 You will be notified about the acceptance of your proposal as soon as possible, but not later than March 1, 1995. For further information about the Symposium, contact the Symposium chairman: Dr. Francis Heylighen PO-PESP, Free University of Brussels Pleinlaan 2 B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Fax: +32-2-641 24 89. E-mail: fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be. or check the World-Wide Web page: http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Einmagsy.html About the Conference: Einstein meets Magritte: An interdisciplinary reflection on science, nature, human action and society Conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel May 29 / June 3, Brussels, Belgium Never before has humanity made such an attempt as now to take its fate into its own hands (science and technology). The increasing speed of current global changes, however, leads to a sense of disorientation. Need this paradox be resolved, and if so, can it be dealt with from a perception that knowledge and actions lead to ever larger fragmentation? Different attitudes prevail, involving respectively; (1) an attempt to reconstitute a form of unity, often projecting the hope that the alleged unwanted effects of scientific and technological progress will become comprehensible and eventually controllable; (2) a relativist attitude, depicting the modern worldview, with its instruments and products (western science and technology), as one among many conceivable, and probably not the most desirable, course for humanity. Each of these attitudes tends to portray the other as a caricature. 'Relativists' stigmatize attempts at unification as dictatorial, unfeasible and naive. Relativism, in its turn, is said to lead anywhere and nowhere at all. The aim of the conference is to gather scholars from different domains, inviting them to set up a dialogue between the above attitudes, and integrate the more relevant insights of both into a new perspective on global change. We have taken up the two myths of Albert Einstein and Rene Magritte, because we believe that where they 'meet' some significant clues might be revealed. How does science (producing knowledge and technology) confront art (producing revelations and sensations)? Do we have to oppose life 'within object' (the conscious ordering of the physical and social world, symbolized in 'Einstein') to a form of life 'beyond object' (symbolized in the imagery of Magritte)? Different workshops or symposia will be held during the conference, on the following themes: Science, society and the university. The nature of life (and death). A world in transition. Worldviews and the problem of synthesis. The foundations of physics. Chaos and non-linear dynamics. The evolution of complexity. Conference proceedings "Einstein meets Magritte", will be published, including contributions of participants. Anyone wishing to take part in the conference, or to receive a second announcement containing a more complete programme, should fill in the reply form and return it to us. For more information concerning the 'scientific aspect' of the conference contact: Diederik Aerts TENA, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Pleinlaan 2 1050 Brussels, Belgium fax: 32 2 629 22 76 E-mail: diraerts@vub.ac.be More info is available on the World-Wide Web, at URL: http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Conf/EinmagAn.html ------------------------------ From: RTEX@smith.smith.edu Subject: (5) Conference: Pyschophysics, Oct 21-24 '95, Cassis, France You are cordially invited to attend and participate in the 11th Annual Meeting of the INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PSYCHOPHYSICS October 21 -24, 1995 Cassis, France This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Ernst Weber, and the Society will honor the occasion with a meeting centered on the continuing significance of his ideas. The invited speaker will be Professor David Green, University of Florida. Theme sessions will be devoted to measures of discriminability, the contributions of Weber, and current work on animal psychophysics. The Society's meetings are small (usually under 70 participants) and informal, with ample opportunity for conversation and debate. In 1995 we meet at the Hotel Roches Blanches, a very attractive hotel on the Mediterranean in Cassis, a short distance east of Marseille. Further details and information about membership and early registration can be obtained from: Kristen Hunt, c/o Bert Scharf, SCHARF@NEU.EDU (Northeastern U) or Camille-Aime Possamai, CAMILLE@MASM.CNRS-MRS.FR Those attending the Psychonomic Society meeting in St. Louis (November 11-13) are invited to a reception where informative material will be available. Get in touch with Steve Link (LINK@MCMAIL.CIS.MCMASTER.EDU) for details, or leave a message for him at the convention registration table. The Organizing Committee for the 1995 meeting includes, in addition to Scharf and Possamai, Helen Ross (HER1@FORTH.STIR.AC.UK), Department of Psychology, Stirling University, Scotland, Bob Teghtsoonian (RTEX@SMITH.SMITH.EDU), Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA, and Lawrence Ward (LWARD@CORTEX.PSYCH.UBC.CA), Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Members of the Committee will be happy to respond to questions, but printed materials are available only from Hunt and Possamai. End of PSYCOLOQUY Digest ******************************