Basic research planning in mathematical pattern recognition and image analysis

Fundamental problems encountered while attempting to develop automated techniques for applications of remote sensing are discussed under the following categories: (1) geometric and radiometric preprocessing; (2) spatial, spectral, temporal, syntactic, and ancillary digital image representation; (3) image partitioning, proportion estimation, and error models in object scene interference; (4) parallel processing and image data structures; and (5) continuing studies in polarization; computer architectures and parallel processing; and the applicability of "expert systems" to interactive analysis

Learning Sentence-internal Temporal Relations

In this paper we propose a data intensive approach for inferring sentence-internal temporal relations. Temporal inference is relevant for practical NLP applications which either extract or synthesize temporal information (e.g., summarisation, question answering). Our method bypasses the need for manual coding by exploiting the presence of markers like after", which overtly signal a temporal relation. We first show that models trained on main and subordinate clauses connected with a temporal marker achieve good performance on a pseudo-disambiguation task simulating temporal inference (during testing the temporal marker is treated as unseen and the models must select the right marker from a set of possible candidates). Secondly, we assess whether the proposed approach holds promise for the semi-automatic creation of temporal annotations. Specifically, we use a model trained on noisy and approximate data (i.e., main and subordinate clauses) to predict intra-sentential relations present in TimeBank, a corpus annotated rich temporal information. Our experiments compare and contrast several probabilistic models differing in their feature space, linguistic assumptions and data requirements. We evaluate performance against gold standard corpora and also against human subjects

An automatic learning of grammar for syntactic pattern recognition, 1988

The practical utility of a syntactic pattern recognizer depends on an automatic learning of pattern class grammars from a sample of patterns. The basic idea is to devise a learning process based on induction of repeated subs rings. Several techniques based on formal lattice structures, structural derivatives, information, k tails, lattice structures, structural information sequence, inductive inference and heuristic approach are widely found in the literature. The purpose of this research is to first devise a minimal finite state automaton which recognizes all patterns. The automaton is then manipulated so that the induction of repetition is captured by cycles or loops. The final phase consists of converting the reduced automaton into a context - free grammar. Now, an automatic parser for this grammar can recognize patterns which are in the respective class

On the fractal nature of complex syntax and the timescale problem

Fundamental to complex dynamic systems theory is the assumption that the recursive behavior of complex systems results in the generation of physical forms and dynamic processes that are self-similar and scale-invariant. Such fractal-like structures and the organismic benefit that they engender has been widely noted in physiology, biology, and medicine, yet discussions of the fractal-like nature of language have remained at the level of metaphor in applied linguistics. Motivated by the lack of empirical evidence supporting this assumption, the present study examines the extent to which the use and development of complex syntax in a learner of English as a second language demonstrate the characteristics of self-similarity and scale invariance at nested timescales. Findings suggest that the use and development of syntactic complexity are governed by fractal scaling as the dynamic relationship among the subconstructs of syntax maintain their complexity and variability across multiple temporal scales. Overall, fractal analysis appears to be a fruitful analytic tool when attempting to discern the dynamic relationships among the multiple component parts of complex systems as they interact over time

Predicting tendencies: a neural network approach, 1995

This study examines the use of Neural Networks to predict tendencies of a football team�s offense based on plays executed on third downs. The examinations were processed by using neural networks to recognize patterns by training the networks with sample plays. Several different architectures for neural network models are explored to determine how well patterns can be recognized utilizing one hidden layer and varying nodes at the layer. This problem is also studied using a Bayes Classifier

Lexical stress and lexical access: effects in read and spontaneous speech

This thesis examines three issues which are of importance in the study of auditory word recognition: the phonological unit which is used to access representations in the mental lexicon; the extent to which hearers can rely on words being identified before their acoustic offsets; and the role of context in auditory word recognition. Three hypotheses which are based on the predictions of the Cohort Model (Marslen-Wilson and Tyler 1980) are tested experimentally using the gating paradigm. First, the phonological access hypothesis claims that word onsets, rather than any other part of the word, are used to access representations in the mental lexicon. An alternative candidate which has been proposed as the initiator of lexical access is the stressed syllable. Second, the early recognition hypothesis states that polysyllabic words, and the majority of words heard in context, will be recognised before their acoustic offsets. Finally, the context-free hypothesis predicts that during the initial stages of the processing of words, no effects of context will be discernible.Experiment 1 tests all three predictions by manipulating aspects of carefully articulated, read speech. First, examination of the gating responses from three context conditions offers no support for the context-free hypothesis. Second, the high number of words which are identified before their acoustic offsets is consistent with the early recognition hypothesis. Finally, the phonological access hypothesis is tested by manipulation of the stress patterns of stimuli. The dependent variables which are examined relate to the processes of lexical access and lexical retrieval; stress differences are found on access measures but not on those relating to retrieval. When the experiment is replicated with a group of subjects whose level of literacy is lower than that of the undergraduates who took part in the original experiment, differences are found in measures relating to contextual processing.Experiment 2 continues to examine the phonological access hypothesis, by manipulating speech style (read versus conversational) as well as stress pattern. Gated words, excised from the speech of six speakers, are presented in isolation. Words excised from read speech and words stressed on the first syllable elicit a greater number of responses which match the stimuli than conversational tokens and words with unstressed initial syllables. Intelligibility differences among the four conditions are also reported.Experiment 3 aims to investigate the processing of read and spontaneous tokens heard in context, while maintaining the manipulation of stress pattern. A subset of the words from Experiment 2 are presented in their original sentence contexts: the test words themselves, plus up to three subsequent words, are gated. Although the presence of preceding context generally enhances intelligibility, some words remain unrecognised by the end of the third subsequent word. An interaction between stress and speech style may be explained in terms of the unintelligibility of the preceding context.Several issues arising from Experiments 1, 2 and 3 are considered further. The characteristics of words which fail to be recognised before their offsets are examined using the statistical technique of regression; the contributions of phonetic and phonological aspects of stressed syllables are assessed; and a further experiment is reported which explores top-down processing in spontaneous speech, and which offers support for the interpretation of the results of Experiment 3 offered earlier