J. E. J. Altham

Bio: J. E. J. Altham is an academic researcher from University of Cambridge. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 1426 citations.

Effect of depth on crowding investigated with a 1 multi-depth plane display

Abstract: 7 Crowding occurs when highly visible objects are rendered unrecognizable in the presence of 8 nearby features. Several studies have demonstrated that crowding can be reduced by depth 9 differences between target and flanking features, which challenges the assumption of real-world 10 significance because real objects typically occur at differing depths. However, most previous 11 studies tested only small differences in depth and/or used standard stereo displays in which 12 disparity, accommodation, and defocus blur are inconsistent with the real world. For this study 13 we developed a multi-depth plane display consisting of three screens at different distances from 14 the observer to test how crowding is affected by large, real differences in target-flanker depth. 15 Overall, perceptual error decreased with increasing target-flanker spacing, but increased when 16 the target or flankers were displayed at a different depth from fixation and one another. Our 17 findings demonstrate that depth can increase crowding when depth differences are large. 18 Analysis of the perceived appearance of the stimuli suggest that outside Panum’s Fusional Area, 19 crowding is increased by suppression to maintain single vision rather than by an increase in 20 clutter because of diplopia. These findings suggest that crowding may be a more significant 21 problem in real scenes than is estimated with 2D displays.

A survey of named entity recognition and classification

Abstract: This survey covers fifteen years of research in the Named Entity Recognition and Classification (NERC) field, from 1991 to 2006. We report observations about languages, named entity types, domains and textual genres studied in the literature. From the start, NERC systems have been developed using hand-made rules, but now machine learning techniques are widely used. These techniques are surveyed along with other critical aspects of NERC such as features and evaluation methods. Features are word-level, dictionary-level and corpus-level representations of words in a document. Evaluation techniques, ranging from intuitive exact match to very complex matching techniques with adjustable cost of errors, are an indisputable key to progress.

Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity In Cognition And Culture

Abstract: Preface Domain specificity: an introduction Lawrence Hirschfeld and Susan Gelman Part I. General/Theoretical Approaches: 1. The modularity of thought Dan Sperber 2. Domain specificity and cultural variation are not inconsistent: lessons from number and music Rochel Gelman and Kimberly Brenneman Part II. Are Domains Theories?: 3. The theory theory Alison Gopkin and Henry Wellman 4. Thinking by children and scientists: false analogies and neglected similarities Paul Harris 5. Core domains versus scientific theories: evidence from systematics and Itzaj-Maya folkbiology Scott Atran 6. Essences and folk theories of biology Susan Gelman, John Coley and Gail Gottfried Part III. Origins of Domain Knowledge, Biology and Evolutionary Approaches: 7. The organization of lexical knowledge in the brain: evidence from category- and modality-specific deficits Alfonso Caramazza, Argye Hillis, Elwyn Keek and Michele Miozzo 8. Origins of domain-specificity: the evolution of functional organization Leda Cosmides and John Tobby 9. Tomm and Toby: core architecture and domain specificity Alan Leslie 10. 'Moral belief' form vs. content David Premack 11. Domain specific knowledge and conceptual change Susan Carey and Elizabeth Spelke 12. Is the acquisition of social categories based on domain-specific competence or on knowledge transfer? Lawrence Hirschfield 13. The birth and nurturance of concepts by domains: the origins of concepts of living things Frank Keil Part IV. Domains Across Cultures and Languages: 14. Cognitive constraints on cultural representation: natural ontologies and religious ideas Pascal Boyer 15. Universal and culture-specific properties of children's mental models of the earth Stella Vosniadou 16. Cognitive domains and the structure of the lexicon Anna Wierzbicka Part V. Implications for Education: 17. 'Teachers' models of children's minds and learning Sidney Strauss and Tamar Shilony 18. 'Situated rationalism' biological and social preparation for learning Lauren Resnick.

The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory

Abstract: A clutch of '-isms' characterises the approach to consciousness which David Chalmers defends: dualism, epiphenomenalism, functionalism, anti-reductionism, and -probably -panpsychism. (The author would no doubt want 'naturalism' included in the list as well, but as we shall see, Chalmers' predilection to describe his theory as 'scientific' stretches credibility.) While the book does not, as far as I can see, move consciousness research significantly forward, Chalmers succeeds admirably in clarifying the philosophical terrain around and within each of these '-isms' and in questioning the usual assumptions which suggest some of them are mutually exclusive. Because nearly all of what follows is highly critical, I want to be explicit about one thing: I do not think this is a bad book. Throughout, most discussions keep to a very high standard; it's just that they include fatal flaws.

when talk isn't cheap: language and political economy

Abstract: Although the classic Saussurean conception of language segregates the linguistic sign from the material world, this paper shows linguistic phenomena playing many roles in political economy. Linguistic signs may refer to aspects of an exchange system; differentiated ways of speaking may index social groups in a social division of labor; and linguistic “goods” may enter the marketplace as objects of exchange. These aspects of language are not mutually exclusive, but (instead) may coincide in the same stretch of discourse. Illustrations are drawn primarily from a rural Wolof community in Senegal. It is argued that linguistic signs are part of a political economy, not just vehicles for thinking about it. Only a conception of language as multifunctional can give an adequate view of the relations between language and the material world, and evade a false dichotomy between “idealists” and “materialists.”[language, political economy, sociolinguistics, semiotic theory, Senegal]

Presupposition Projection as Anaphora Resolution

Abstract: The present paper presents an anaphoric account of presupposition. It is argued that presuppositional expressions should not be seen as referring expressions, nor is presupposition to be explicated in terms of some non-standard logic. The notion of presupposition should not be relegated to a pragmatic theory either. Instead presuppositional expressions are claimed to be anaphoric expressions which have internal structure and semantic content. In fact they only differ from pronouns and other semantically less loaded anaphors in that they have more descriptive content. It is this fact which enables them to create an antecedent in case discourse does not provide one. If their capacity to accommodate is taken into account they can be treated by basically the same mechanism which handles the resolution of pronouns. The theory is elaborated in the framework of discourse representation theory. It is shown that pragmatic factors interfere in the resolution of presuppositio nal anaphors. The resulting account can neither be classified as wholly semantic nor wholly pragmatic. Section 1 presents a survey of standing problems in the theory of presupposition projection and discusses the major competing approaches. An argumentation for a purely anaphoric account of presupposition is given in section 2. Section 3 presents a coding of presuppositional expressions in an extension of discourse representation theory. The final section is devoted to a discussion of the constraints which govern the resolution of presuppositional anaphors.