THE BRITISH COMPUTER SOCIETY SGES
            (The Specialist Group on Knowledge-Based
          Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence)
                             ES 2000

The Twentieth SGES International Conference on Knowledge Based
Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence

PETERHOUSE COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, UK

December 11th-13th 2000

http://www.bcs-sges.org/es2000/

OVERVIEW
========

ES2000 is the twentieth Annual International Conference of the
British Computer Society's Specialist Group on Knowledge Based
Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence (SGES), which will be
held in the attractive surroundings of Peterhouse College in Cam-
bridge.

The scope of the conference has expanded over recent years to
cover not just traditional knowledge based systems, but to in-
clude the whole range of AI technologies and application areas.
Its principal aims are to review recent technical advances in AI
technologies and to show how this leading edge technology has
been applied to solve business problems.

To meet these objectives, ES2000 has parallel technical and ap-
plication streams of refereed and invited papers on both technol-
ogy and applications. The programme also includes tutorials to
provide greater depth in selected topics. Our aim is for ES2000
to have the widest possible appeal to the industrial, commercial
and academic communities throughout Europe.

As in previous years the conference aims to bring together re-
searchers and developers from a wide range of academic, research
and industrial backgrounds. Delegates will have the opportunity
to discuss their ideas and problems with research staff working
at the leading edge of AI developments and with developers with
experience of the practical issues of getting systems into opera-
tion. The conference will qualify for the IEE and BCS CPD
schemes.

In addition to the formal sessions, the conference programme in-
cludes a welcome reception and a Gala Dinner. Plenty of time has
been inserted into the programme to allow discussions with other
delegates and time to make new contacts and renew old acquain-
tances.

ES2000 offers a valuable opportunity to keep up to date with de-
velopments in AI and to share experiences in the practical issues
of developing AI based systems.

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
======================

As in previous years, the conference will run two parallel
streams of case studies and technical papers. All papers are rig-
orously refereed to ensure that those selected meet the needs of
the delegates. For each stream there will be a keynote address by
an acknowledged international expert in the field.

The APPLICATIONS STREAM will present up to twenty papers describ-
ing practical applications of AI. This is the largest annual
showcase in Europe of real application using AI technology and
the ideal place to meet with those working to make successful AI
based applications. Papers in recent years have covered topics as
diverse as: KBS to support military spares management; AI support
to the use of multi-lingual technical documentation; use of CBR
to prevent repeating metallurgical defects; data mining in the
paper industry; improved operation of blast furnaces; better en-
ergy management, applications of intelligent agents; knowledge
management and the application of neural networks to the analysis
of the performance of divers. Papers are selected to highlight
critical areas of success (and failure) and to present the bene-
fits and lessons of value to other developers. Submitted papers
should make these points clear.

Guidance notes for Application Stream authors are available (see
below).

The TECHNICAL STREAM aims to present the best of recent develop-
ments in AI, covering a wide range of technical areas. Papers
have been invited in the following domains: knowledge based sys-
tems; knowledge engineering; constraint satisfaction; intelligent
agents; machine learning; model based reasoning; verification and
v validation of AI systems; natural language understanding; case
based reasoning; neural networks; genetic algorithms; data mining
and knowledge discovery in databases.

As in previous years two £500 prizes will be awarded for the best
application and technical stream papers. For ES'99 these were
sponsored by BRITISH AIRWAYS (application stream) and HEWLETT
PACKARD (technical stream). There will also be a £200 "best pre-
sentation prize" which, at ES'99, was sponsored by the NORTH WEST
AI APPLICATION GROUP.

Papers are solicited for both the Applications and the Technical
Streams.

Those wishing to submit papers should give advance notice by
sending in an abstract as soon as possible. Four printed copies
of papers (maximum14 sides of A4) should be sent to the Confer-
ence Secretariat to arrive by 19th June 2000.

NOTE: It is preferred (but not a requirement) that submitted pa-
pers should comply with the formatting instructions wherever pos-
sible. The proceedings will be printed from camera-ready copy and
authors of accepted papers will be asked to resubmit them for
this purpose in the specified format. The length limit of 14
pages will be strictly enforced for final versions.

Papers and abstracts for both streams should be sent to:

Ms. Thelma Williams (ES2000 Administrator) Dept. of Computer Sci-
ence The University of Liverpool Chadwick Building Liverpool L69
7ZF

Tel: +44 (0)151 794 3666 Fax: +44 (0)151 794 3715 Email: sges-
[log in to unmask]

Authors should indicate the stream to which their papers are be-
ing submitted.

FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS
=======================

The conference proceedings will again be published in book form
by Springer-Verlag in their BCS Conference series.

The books will be prepared from camera-ready copy supplied by the
authors of accepted papers. Formatting specifications for the
proceedings have been provided by the publisher and are available
at: http://www.bcs-sges.org/es2000/index.htm


IMPORTANT DATES
===============

Title/Abstract Notification: ASAP Full
Paper Submission: 19th June 2000
Notification of Acceptance: 14th August 2000
Camera Ready Papers Due: 18th September 2000


ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE NOTES FOR AUTHORS OF APPLICATION STREAM PA-
PERS
==================================================================

For the application stream, a paper is acceptable even if it de-
scribes a system which has not yet been installed, PROVIDED the
application is original AND the paper discusses the kinds of
things that would help someone thinking of implementing a similar
system in their own organisation. It must concisely describe and
scope the problem tackled, saying why it is hard, and why AI
techniques are needed. It should also make clear the status of
the system, and should discuss such things as the project dura-
tion and effort, how the project was justified and the expected
benefits estimated, any problems encountered, the performance of
the final system and the reactions of users.

It is suggested that papers should contain sections covering the
following information:

FIRST PAGE: Must include title, list of authors and their affili-
ations and an abstract.

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: This should describe the problem that the
application solves, stating the objectives of the application and
explaining why an AI solution was required. If other solutions
were tried and failed, briefly outline these solutions with rea-
sons for failure.

APPLICATION DESCRIPTION: This should describe the solution to the
problem, with technical details on design and implementation. It
should describe any methodological approach used, detail the key
AI techniques used and if appropriate show how they were inte-
grated with conventional techniques. If commercial AI tools were
used they should be identified and reasons for their selection
given.

APPLICATION BUILDING: This should describe the size and skill
make-up of the project team, how long is took to build and the
costs involved. How it was/will be installed and introduced to
the users, with details of any training required. Describe any
plans for maintenance, in particular how the knowledge is expect-
ed to change over time, and any features to aid the updating of
knowledge, etc.

APPLICATION BENEFITS: Were potential benefits identified before
building the application and have these been realised or are
likely to be realised? Has the application been in use and, if
so, how often has it been used and by how many users? What fur-
ther long term benefits are expected? What future plans have been
made for its enhancement and use?


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