Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 12:27:55 +0000
To: [log in to unmask]
----------

>           "CONDITIONALS, INFORMATION, AND INFERENCE"
>
>                     May 13 - 15, 2002
>                       Hagen, Germany
>
> WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
> ====================
>
> Conditionals, most generally expressed as if-then-statements and also
> termed default rules, are crucial pieces of information. They
> represent, for instance, causal or plausible connections, bring
> isolated facts together and help us obtain a coherent image of the
> world. Conditional knowledge often is generic knowledge, which has
> been acquired inductively from experience or learned from authorities.
> Conditionals tie a flexible and highly interrelated network of links
> along which reasoning is possible and which can be applied to
> different situations.
>
> Due to their non-Boolean nature, however, conditionals are not easily
> dealt with. They are not simply true or false - rather, a conditional
> "if A then B" provides a context, A,  for B  to be plausible (or true)
> and must not be confused with "A entails B" or with the material
> implication "not A or B". First work on conditional objects dates back
> to Boole in the 19th century, and the interest in conditionals was
> revived in the second half of the last century, when the emerging
> Artificial Intelligence claimed for appropriate formal tools for
> handling "generalized rules". Since then, conditionals have been the
> topic of countless publications, each emphasizing their relevance for
> knowledge representation, plausible reasoning, nonmonotonic inference,
> and belief revision. Moreover, conditionals are closely related to
> information, understood as reduction of uncertainty. To learn that,
> in the context A, the proposition B is plausible, may reduce
> uncertainty  about B and hence is information. The ability to predict
> such conditioned propositions is knowledge and as such (earlier)
> acquired information.
>
> To date, a diversity of default and conditional theories have been
> brought forth, in quantitative as well as in qualitative frameworks,
> but clear benchmarks are still in discussion. Therefore, the proper
> handling of conditionals and information is still a challenge both
> for theoretical issues and practical applications.
>
> The aim of this workshop is to bring together researchers interested
> in and working with conditionals and information processing, in order
> to present new results, discuss open problems and intensify
> cooperation. Special focuses will be put on the relationship between
> conditionals and information, on the one hand, and on plausible
> inference operations as the crucial link between antecedents and
> conclusions of conditionals, on the other hand.
>
> Areas of interest are:
>
> *  conditional logics,
> *  information theoretical approaches to conditionals,
> *  nonmonotonic and plausible inference,
> *  belief revision,
> *  conditional event theories,
> *  conditionals in probabilistics and possibilistics,
> *  cognitive and epistemic aspects of conditionals,
> *  systems and implementations,
> *  applications.
>
> CALL FOR PAPERS
> ===============
>
> For the workshop, we invite full papers on the themes listed above.
> Submitted papers  should not exceed 12 pages. Authors are requested
> to specify the subarea(s) their paper belongs to, and to include a
> list of keywords. Work reported should have not appeared elsewhere.
>
> We strongly encourage electronic submission of papers in postscript or
> pdf format. To submit a paper electronically, send an email message
> to one of the Program Co-Chairs (see email addresses below) that
> includes the following information: paper title, author names, email
> address of contact author, and paper body (postscript or pdf format).
> Authors unable to submit papers electronically should send 3 copies
> of the complete  paper to one of the Program Co-Chairs (see addresses
> below).
>
> The proceedings will be published as technical report, which will be
> available at the workshop. Moreover, a publication of selected papers
> in a volume published by Springer is planned.
>
> IMPORTANT DATES
> ===============
>
> Submission of papers: January 15, 2002
> Acceptance decision by: February 28, 2002
> Camera ready copy due: April 15, 2002
> Workshop Meeting: May 13-15, 2002
>
> WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS AND PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS
> =========================================
>
> Gabriele Kern-Isberner
> Fachbereich Informatik
> Lehrgebiet Praktische Informatik VIII
> FernUniversitaet Hagen
> P.O. Box 940
> D-58084 Hagen, Germany
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> Wilhelm Roedder
> Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaft
> Lehrstuhl BWL, insb. Operations Research
> FernUniversitaet Hagen
> P.O. Box 940
> D-58084 Hagen, Germany
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> LOCAL ORGANIZATION
> ==================
>
> Friedhelm Kulmann
> Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaft
> Lehrstuhl BWL, insb. Operations Research
> FernUniversitaet Hagen
> P.O. Box 940
> D-58084 Hagen, Germany
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> WORKSHOP PROGRAM COMMITTEE
> ==========================
>
> Salem Benferhat, Universite Paul Sabatier
> Alexander Bochman, Holon Academic Institute of Technology
> Gerhard Brewka, Universitaet Leipzig
> Phil Calabrese, SPAWAR/NAVY San Diego
> Jim Delgrande, Simon Fraser University
> Didier Dubois, Universite Paul Sabatier
> Angelo Gilio, Universita La Sapienza
> Andreas Herzig, Universite Paul Sabatier
> Thomas Lukasiewicz, TU Wien
> Frantisek Matus, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
> Jeff Paris, University of Manchester
> Simon Parsons, University of Liverpool
> Hans Rott, Universitaet Regensburg
> Manfred Schramm, TU Muenchen
> Milan Studeny, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic