- SIPTA News - lists.sipta.org

[SIPTA] Accept & reject statement-based uncertainty models
by Erik Quaeghebeur 22 Jan '15

22 Jan '15

Dear colleagues, I am pleased to announce the publication in IJAR of a paper co-authored by Gert de Cooman, Filip Hermans, and myself: Accept & reject statement-based uncertainty models Links: * Journal version (free download until March 12th): http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1QPbF,KD6Z3Yjz or (the above link does not work for me in Firefox) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/authShare/S0888613X14001789/20150121T1… * DOI: 10.1016/j.ijar.2014.12.003 * Author post-print version (v6 update with some errata fixed will arrive by next week): http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.4462 Abstract: We develop a framework for modelling and reasoning with uncertainty based on accept and reject statements about gambles. It generalises the frameworks found in the literature based on statements of acceptability, desirability, or favourability and clarifies their relative position. Next to the statement-based formulation, we also provide a translation in terms of preference relations, discuss—as a bridge to existing frameworks—a number of simplified variants, and show the relationship with prevision-based uncertainty models. We furthermore provide an application to modelling symmetry judgements. Keywords: Acceptability; Indifference; Desirability; Favourability; Preference; Prevision Best regards, Erik Quaeghebeur -- http://ac.erikquaeghebeur.name

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[SIPTA] Doctoral Fellow at Queen's University Belfast - School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
by Cassio P. de Campos 15 Jan '15

15 Jan '15

Forwarding announcement of postdoc position here at Queen's, best, cassio. ====== Jobs: Queen's University Belfast - School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Job Ref:15/103681 http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AKF760/research-fellow-multi-agent-systems-for-la… Available immediately for the PACES project and in collaboration with BAE Systems, National Nuclear Laboratory, Network Rail, SciSys, Sellafield, Schlumberger, DSTL and UK Space Agency, the successful candidate will conduct advanced research in the following areas (subject to changes): i. Developing belief change models in multi-agent environments under uncertain sensory data and other forms of inputs; ii. Developing dynamic planning under uncertainty algorithms in the context of BDI agents; iii. Developing (discrete and continuous) event models and prediction approaches for autonomous planning and execution in MASs. Anticipated interview date: Friday 13 February 2015 Salary scale: £31,342 - £40,847 per annum (including contribution points) Closing date: Monday 2 February 2015 Please visit our website for further information and to apply online - http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/eeecs/Workwithus/CurrentVacancies/ or alternatively contact the Personnel Department, Queen's University Belfast, BT7 1NN. Telephone (028) 90973044 or e-mail on personnel(a)qub.ac.uk The University is committed to equality of opportunity and to selection on merit. It therefore welcomes applications from all sections of society and particularly welcomes applications from people with a disability. Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding. Dr Kim Bauters Knowledge and Data Engineering Cluster School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Queen's University Belfast www: http://www.cs.qub.ac.uk/~k.bauters/

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[SIPTA] ECSQARU 2015 second cfp
by Sébastien Destercke 12 Jan '15

12 Jan '15

** apologies for cross-posting ** ====================================================================== ECSQARU 2015, 15th-17th July 2015 Thirteenth European Conference on Symbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty Dates: July 15th-17th, 2015 Location: Compiègne, France Submission deadline: February 6th, 2015 Notification: March 27th, 2015 Final version: April 24th, 2015 Further information: https://ecsqaru2015.hds.utc.fr/ ====================================================================== Scope ---------- The biennial ECSQARU conferences constitute a major forum for advances in the theory and practice of reasoning under uncertainty. Contributions come from researchers interested in advancing the technology and from practitioners using uncertainty techniques in real-world applications. The scope of the ECSQARU conferences encompasses fundamental issues, representation, inference, learning, and decision making in qualitative and numeric uncertainty paradigms. The 13th European Conference on Symbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty will be held in Compiègne, France, on July 15th-17th, 2015. Publication and indexing ---------------------------------- In accordance with the previous conferences, the proceedings of ECSQARU 2015 will be published in the Springer Lecture Notes in Articial Intelligence series. Authors are requested to prepare their conference papers in the LNCS/LNAI format, indexed by the following services: - ISI Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science (CPCI-S), included in ISI Web of Science - EI Engineering Index (Compendex and Inspec databases) - ACM Digital Library - dblp - Google Scholar - IO-Port - MathSciNet - Scopus - Zentralblatt MATH Extended version of selected papers will appear in a special issue of the International Journal of Approximate Reasoning. Invited speakers ------------------------ We are glad to announce that the following speakers have agreed to give an invited talk at the conference: - Edith Elkind, Oxford University - Teddy Seidenfeld, Carnegie Mellon University - Marco Zaffalon, Istituto "Dalle Molle" di Studi sull’Intelligenza Artificiale (IDSIA) Conference organization ---------------------------------- ECSQARU 2015 is organized by the Heudiasyc research laboratory at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne, and more specifically by: - Prof. Thierry Denoeux (Conference Chair) - Dr. Véronique Cherfaoui - Dr. Sébastien Destercke - Dr. Benjammin Quost - Dr. Mohamed Sallak They can be contacted through ecsqaru2015(a)hds.utc.fr

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[SIPTA] [1st CfP] IJCAI’15 Workshop on Sensitivity Analysis and Robustness in Probabilistic Graphical Models
by Alessandro Antonucci 12 Jan '15

12 Jan '15

IJCAI’15 Workshop on Sensitivity Analysis and Robustness in Probabilistic Graphical Models Buenos Aires, July 25-27, 2015 - http://ipg.idsia.ch/wijcai15/ FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS Probabilistic graphical models are important tools in machine learning and artificial intelligence for reasoning with uncertainty. They provide means to represent large multivariate domains compactly and to perform sophisticated learning and reasoning efficiently. Examples of probabilistic graphical models are Bayesian networks, Markov Random fields, chain and factor graphs, Gaussian graphical models, to name but a few. The quantification of these models usually requires sharp (i.e., precise) assessments of the model local potentials and might be subject to robustness issues. For instance, perturbations of some parameter values may lead to different decisions from those which would be achieved by the unperturbed model, suggesting that decisions are not reliable. Reliability might also be in question because of missing data and assumptions behind the process. The workshop invites submissions of papers on all aspects of sensitivity analysis and robustness in probabilistic graphical models. Contributions may have a theoretical focus and/or an applied focus. A non-exhaustive list of topics follows. - Local and/or global sensitivity analysis. - Parameter-based and/or decision-based sensitivity analysis. - Design of robust learning, inference and/or decision making approaches. - Robust analysis and design of robustness measurements. - Extensions of probabilistic graphical models. - Reliable qualitative learning and reasoning. - Robust treatment of missing data. - Imprecise probability and other theories related to sensitivity analysis. - Computational complexity, exact and approximate algorithms. Each submission will be reviewed by peers using a double-blind process (please use the third person in self citations and take all necessary care not to identify yourselves). Accepted papers will be published electronically in a volume of the JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings series. There will be no rebuttal phase, but contributions considered worth publishing and needing substantial revision might be subject to a second round of reviewing/evaluation. All accepted papers will be presented at the workshop. At least one of the paper's authors should register and attend the workshop to present the work. Submissions must be formatted according to style and template files available for the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR) Workshop and Conference Proceedings - two-column version. The style files are available at http:/ipg.idsia.ch/wijcai15/sarpgm15.tar.gz Papers (including figures, tables, references, etc) are expected to have between 6 and 10 pages. IMPORTANT DATES Apr 27, 2015 - Deadline for submissions of contributions May 20, 2015 - Workshop paper acceptance notification May 30, 2015 - Deadline for workshop camera-ready copy (in case of minor revision; contributions needing major revision might need additional time - this will be arranged case by case) PC MEMBERS Alessandro Antonucci*, IDSIA, Switzerland. Alessio Benavoli, IDSIA, Switzerland. Cassio P. de Campos*, Queen's University Belfast, UK. Arthur Choi, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Giorgio Corani*, IDSIA, Switzerland. Fabio Cozman, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Adnan Darwiche, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Sebastien Destercke, Univ. de Technologie de Compiegne, France. Marek Druzdzel, University of Pittsburgh, USA. Johan Kwisthout, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Agnieszka Onisko, Bialystok University of Technology, Poland. Denis Maua, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Serafin Moral, Universidad de Granada, Spain. Silja Renooij, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands. Matthias Troffaes, University of Durham, UK. (*: Workshop organizers.) More details about the submission procedure are available online. http://ipg.idsia.ch/wijcai15/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (We apologize in case you receive multiple copies of this announcement, but yet we hope to reach the greatest possible number of people. Finding a trade-off is not an easy task.) -- _________________________________ Alessandro Antonucci IDSIA Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Via Cantonale (Galleria 2) CH-6928, Manno-Lugano, CH mail: alessandro(a)idsia.ch skype: alessandro.antonucci tel: +41 916108515 web: www.idsia.ch/~alessandro _________________________________

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[SIPTA] ISIPTA'15 second call for papers and posters
by Enrique Miranda 11 Jan '15

11 Jan '15

*ISIPTA '15 SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS & POSTERS* 9th International Symposium on Imprecise Probability: Theories and Applications 20-24 July 2015 Pescara, Italy Website with up-to-date information on all aspects of the conference: http://www.sipta.org/isipta15 Scientific program contact: isipta15(a)easychair.org Local organization contact: isipta15(a)unich.it *Important Dates* 30 Jan - Paper abstracts & preliminary papers due 13 Feb - Review-ready papers due 31 Mar - Conference hotel pre-reservation deadline 08 Apr - Paper notification 17 Apr - Poster-only abstracts due 06 May - Poster-only notification 29 May - Early-bird registration deadline (€350 full; €200 student) *Scope & Symposium Format* ISIPTA is the primary international forum to present and discuss new results related to imprecise probability. We welcome both theoretical and applied original contributions. In this edition, we especially welcome papers connecting imprecise probabilities with related research in fields such as economics, philosophy, sociology, and engineering. There will be no parallel sessions. Each paper that is accepted is presented both (i) in a plenary session, meant for a short introduction and a sketch of the context and relevance; and (ii) in a poster session, where ample time is given for in-depth explanation and discussion. The poster-only track provides a second, free format presentation option. It is also open for preliminary results, challenges, etc. *New: non-proceedings papers* To adapt to different publication cultures in different fields, we introduce a new option: the non-proceeding papers. Authors may request that their contribution is not published in the proceedings in case this precludes later publication of an expanded journal version. The PC Board will decide on a case-by-case basis. If accepted, a one-page abstract will be published in the proceedings, and the paper must be freely available on-line (e.g., as a working paper). *Invited Speakers* Massimo Marinacci, AXA-Bocconi Chair in Risk Department of Decision Sciences, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy Itzhak Gilboa, Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel-Aviv University, Israel & HEC, Paris, France Peter M. Williams, a Founding Father of Imprecise Probability and Principal BW Mining, Brighton, UK *Special Issue* After the conference, a special issue with a selection of the accepted papers will be published in an expanded version in the International Journal of Approximate Reasoning. *Steering Committee* T. Augustin (LMU München, Germany) + PC Board G. de Cooman (Ghent University, Belgium) S. Doria (University G. d'Annunzio, Italy) + Local Organization E. Miranda (University of Oviedo, Spain) + PC Board E. Quaeghebeur (CWI, Amsterdam, Netherlands) + PC Board T. Seidenfeld (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) We look forward to your contribution and to seeing you in Pescara!

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[SIPTA] FW: mark your calendars
by Kreinovich 10 Jan '15

10 Jan '15

FYI, for those who are interested in quantitative applications to economics ************************************************************* The 9th International Conference of the Thailand Econometric Society TES'2016: Causal Inference in Econometrics January 6-8, 2016 information will be posted on http://www.cmse-conference.org/ Call for Papers: TES'2016 calls for academic papers in the field of theoretical and empirical econometrics. The theme of the conference in January 2016 is "Causal Inference in Econometrics". The conference also welcomes all disciplines in quantitative economics.

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Re: [SIPTA] IFSA-EUSFLAT 2015: CFP - Submission deadline extension.
by Kreinovich 10 Jan '15

10 Jan '15

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[SIPTA] ESREL special session on Bayesian modelling to handle epistemic uncertainty in risk and reliability
by Matthias Troffaes 09 Jan '15

09 Jan '15

Dear colleagues, See below, another ESREL special session that might be of interest to our community. Although not as explicitly mentioned, imprecise probability contributions (e.g. robust Bayesian methods for risk & reliability modelling) are also very welcome. Cheers, Matthias ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ullrika Sahlin <ullrika.sahlin(a)cec.lu.se> Date: Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 10:20 AM Welcome to submit papers and to a special session on "Bayesian modelling to handle epistemic uncertainty in risk and reliability” at the next European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL) to be held in Zurich, September 7-10, 2015. The session is organized by Dr Ullrika Sahlin Lund University, Dr John Paul Gosling University of Leeds and Dr Kevin Wilson University of Strathclyde who can provide further information. This special session aims to give a broad overview of applications of Bayesian modelling to handle knowledge-based uncertainty in assessments and decision making. We welcome both applied and conceptual contributions in dealing with knowledge-based uncertainty using a Bayesian framework. For example, contributions are sought on the applications and theoretical considerations of expert elicitation, characterising uncertainty in model parameters and structure, learning strategies and evidence synthesis. The deadline for submitting a 400-word abstract is January 31st. Author guidelines can be found here: http://esrel2015.ethz.ch/?page_id=29 The paper submission system is now open: http://esrel2015.ethz.ch/system/index.php/esrel/2015/login. Don’t forget to indicate the special session when submitting your abstract, or send Ullrika an email (ullrika.sahlin(a)cec.lu.se) indicating that you would like to be part of this session. We look forward to hear from you Ullrika, John Paul and Kevin

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[SIPTA] Fwd: Invitation to session on Info-gap theory in safety and reliability assessments
by Matthias Troffaes 05 Jan '15

05 Jan '15

Dear colleagues, This may be of interest to some of you - note the deadline of 31 January for abstracts. Cheers, Matthias ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ullrika Sahlin <ullrika.sahlin(a)cec.lu.se> Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 9:44 AM Subject: Invitation to session on Info-gap theory in safety and reliability assessments Welcome to submit a paper to a special session on Info-gap theory in safety and reliability assessments at the next European Safety and Reliability Conference ESREL to be held in Zürich September 7 – 10th 2015. Besides hosting some state-of-the art applications of info-gap theory in assessments the aims of this session are to 1) Demonstrate the potential of using info-gap theory to deal with weaknesses in underlying information or uncertainty arising from making severe extrapolations. 2) Discuss basic concepts behind info-gap theory and how these relate to concepts of risk, uncertainty and decision theory. 3) Encourage novel applications of info-gap theory to treat and communicate epistemic uncertainty in the space between uncertainty quantified by knowledge-based Bayesian probabilities and uncertainty quantified by non-probabilistic measures. This session is organized by Dr. Ullrika Sahlin and I am happy to provide you with further information. Deadline for abstract submission is January 31st. The paper submission system is now open, http://esrel2015.ethz.ch/system/index.php/esrel/2015/login. Don’t forget to indicate the special session at abstract submission or send us an email that you would like to be part of this session. Please forward this invitation to people in your network that may be keen in contributing!

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[SIPTA] FW: special issue, from Alan Wong
by Kreinovich 24 Dec '14

24 Dec '14

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