Unified Semantics Research Articles

The differentiation of iconic and metaphoric gestures: Common and unique integration processes

Recent research on the neural integration of speech and gesture has examined either gesture in the context of concrete [iconic (IC) gestures] or abstract sentence content [metaphoric (MP) gestures]. However, there has not yet been a direct comparison of the processing of both gesture types. This study tested the theory that left posterior temporal and inferior frontal brain regions are each uniquely involved in the integration of IC and MP gestures. During fMRI-data acquisition, participants were shown videos of an actor performing IC and MP gestures and associated sentences. An isolated gesture (G) and isolated sentence condition (S) were included to separate unimodal from bimodal effects at the neural level. During IC conditions, we found increased activity in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus and its right hemispheric homologue. The same regions in addition to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were activated during MP conditions in contrast to the isolated conditions (G&S). These findings support the hypothesis that there are distinct integration processes for IC and MP gestures. In line with recent claims of the semantic unification theory, there seems to be a division between perceptual-matching processes within the posterior temporal lobe and higher-order relational processes within the IFG.

Adding semantics to the reliable object annotated image databases

Abstract Semantically enriched multimedia information is crucial for equipping the kind of multimedia search potentials that professional searchers need. But the semantic interpretation of multimedia is obsolete without some mechanism for understanding semantic content that is not explicitly available. Manual annotation is the only source to overwhelming this, which is not only time consuming and costly but also lacks semantic enrichment in terms of concept diversity and concept enrichability. In this paper, we present semantically enhanced information extraction model that calculate the semantic intensity (SI) of each object in the image and then enhance the tagged concept with the assistance of lexical and conceptual knowledgebases .i.e. WordNet and ConceptNet. Noises, redundant and unusual words are then filtered out by means of various techniques like semantic similarity, stopwords and words unification. The experiment has been carried out on the LabelMe datasets. Results demonstrate the substantial improvement in terms of concept diversity, concept enrichment and retrieval performance.

Double preference relations for generalised belief change

Many belief change formalisms employ plausibility orderings over the set of possible worlds to determine how the beliefs of an agent ought to be modified after the receipt of a new epistemic input. While most such possible world semantics rely on a single ordering, we investigate the use of an additional preference ordering—representing, for instance, the epistemic context the agent finds itself in—to guide the process of belief change. We show that the resultant formalism provides a unifying semantics for a wide variety of belief change operators. By varying the conditions placed on the second ordering, different families of known belief change operators can be captured, including AGM belief contraction and revision, Rott and Pagnucco's severe withdrawal, the systematic withdrawal of Meyer et al., as well as the linear liberation and σ-liberation operators of Booth et al. Our approach also identifies novel classes of belief change operators worthy of further investigation.

Towards closed world reasoning in dynamic open worlds

AbstractThe need for integration of ontologies with nonmonotonic rules has been gaining importance in a number of areas, such as the Semantic Web. A number of researchers addressed this problem by proposing a unified semantics forhybrid knowledge basescomposed of both an ontology (expressed in a fragment of first-order logic) and nonmonotonic rules. These semantics have matured over the years, but only provide solutions for the static case when knowledge does not need to evolve.In this paper we take a first step towards addressing the dynamics of hybrid knowledge bases. We focus on knowledge updates and, considering the state of the art of belief update, ontology update and rule update, we show that current solutions are only partial and difficult to combine. Then we extend the existing work on ABox updates with rules, provide a semantics for such evolving hybrid knowledge bases and study its basic properties.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an update operator is proposed for hybrid knowledge bases.

ONTOGRATE: TOWARDS AUTOMATIC INTEGRATION FOR RELATIONAL DATABASES AND THE SEMANTIC WEB THROUGH AN ONTOLOGY-BASED FRAMEWORK

Integrating existing relational databases with ontology-based systems is among the important research problems for the Semantic Web. We have designed a comprehensive framework called OntoGrate which combines a highly automatic mapping system, a logic inference engine, and several syntax wrappers that inter-operate with consistent semantics to answer ontology-based queries using the data from heterogeneous databases. There are several major contributions of our OntoGrate research: (i) we designed an ontology-based framework that provides a unified semantics for mapping discovery and query translation by transforming database schemas to Semantic Web ontologies; (ii) we developed a highly automatic ontology mapping system which leverages object reconciliation and multi-relational data mining techniques; (iii) we developed an inference-based query translation algorithm and several syntax wrappers which can translate queries and answers between relational databases and the Semantic Web. The testing results of our implemented OntoGrate system in different domains show that the large amount of data in relational databases can be directly utilized for answering Semantic Web queries rather than first converting all relational data into RDF or OWL.

Towards a unified theory of ‘if”s—The theory of conditional elements: Further evidence from conditionally self-falsifying utterances

In this paper, we put forth an attempt towards a unified theory of ‘if”s as they occur in natural language. In §1, we introduce the project. In §2, we reprise and expand the theory in the context within which we originally introduced it, Austinian ifs. In §3, we discuss bridge conditionals—conditionals which may have an Austinian reading or a standard reading, depending on the context. In §4, we return to the two alternative readings the theory offers us for Austinian ifs and provide some guidance as to how to select what we call the expanded reading, and how to choose between the limited account and the extended account in particular cases. In §5, we consider conditionally self-falsifying utterances, a speech act which demands similar treatment to Austinian ifs, yet is radically different in discourse function, thereby providing powerful evidence for the theory. Along the way, we introduce structural falsity, the structural complement of vacuous truth. In §6, we provide a unified semantics for ‘if’—worries expressed through the medium of warnings.

Plural Superlatives and Distributivity

No abstract.

Scope and Situation Binding in LTAG Using Semantic Unification

This paper sets up a framework for Lexicalized Tree Adjoining Grammar (LTAG) semantics that brings together ideas from different recent approaches addressing some shortcomings of LTAG semantics based on the derivation tree. The approach assigns underspecified semantic representations and semantic feature structure descriptions to elementary trees. Semantic computation is guided by the derivation tree and consists of adding feature value equations to the descriptions. A rigorous formal definition of the framework is given. Then, within this framework, an analysis is proposed that accounts for the different scopal properties of quantificational NPs (including nested NPs), adverbs, raising verbs and attitude verbs. Furthermore, by integrating situation variables in the semantics, different situation binding possibilities are derived for different types of quantificational elements.

Perfectivity as aspectual definiteness: Time and the event in Russian

This paper seeks to give a unified semantics for perfectivity in Russian within an explicitly decompositional syntactic framework. The aim is to account for the similar behaviour of the perfective class of predicates, despite the differences in the syntactic and semantic behaviour of the prefixes that attach to imperfective roots to give the perfective form. The first part of the paper gives the data that show that prefix types must be separated into at least two types (‘inner’ or ‘lexical’ prefixes vs. ‘outer’ or ‘superlexical’ prefixes) and that traditional notions of telicity and/or quantization are not uniformly correlated with linguistic perfectivity. The second half of the paper argues for an interpretation of perfectivity as corresponding to the ‘definiteness’ of the assertion time with respect to the run time of the event, in terms of a syntax–semantics account that makes use of both event and time variables.

Analysis, modeling, emergence & integration in complex systems: A modeling and integration framework & system biology

AbstractAnalysis and Modeling is the first “phase” of understanding or developing a system. It is also, maybe more importantly, the foundation of understanding a natural science or system. It's abstract and conceptually difficult but, being foundational, contributes the most to the quality of understanding of (designed or natural) systems. Complex Systems have a natural hierarchy of levels and multiple subsystems. The character and functionality of each level or subsystem “emerges” across its boundaries. Both sides of these boundaries must be understood within that side's natural thought patterns. Integrated interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for making sense of complex systems; but collaboration among disciplines is difficult, because of their different ways of thinking. This creates a dilemma, “understanding complex systems” is one horn; “integrated interdisciplinary collaboration” is the other. This dilemma in complex system analysis/modeling and interdiscipline collaboration, is currently addressed by “grabbing the bull by the horns.” This takes on this doubly complex problem, by painstakingly building up abstract “bull wrestling” skills in and across domains and disciplines. There's another wrinkle; complexity requires interdisciplinary collaboration at deeper, more dissimilar, levels. The usual approach, finding a way to “pass between the horns of the dilemma” will not work here, due to this cross coupling. Rather than trying to pass between the horns, by abstracting away the coupling, we overtly organizing this coupling. We weave a semantic unification space of conceptual connections linking each side of a boundary to its appropriate way of thinking. This allows us to abstracting away the dilemma and iron out the wrinkle. The threads of common image schemas, cognitive metaphors and conceptual interfaces, weave a bridge between the semantics foundations and organizations of each problem. These allow addressing the problems synergistically. This paper presents and explores a naturally valid way for discipline specific and discipline integrating addressing complex systems. We start with the methodological insights from analysis and modeling from the perspective of object orientation, with its ontologies, organizing lexical semantics. We advance from there by integrating in imagistic, imaginative semantics and affordance based interaction methodology, as the keys to addressing complex systems analysis, modeling and integration. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2007

Beyond the sentence given

A central and influential idea among researchers of language is that our language faculty is organized according to Fregean compositionality, which states that the meaning of an utterance is a function of the meaning of its parts and of the syntactic rules by which these parts are combined. Since the domain of syntactic rules is the sentence, the implication of this idea is that language interpretation takes place in a two-step fashion. First, the meaning of a sentence is computed. In a second step, the sentence meaning is integrated with information from prior discourse, world knowledge, information about the speaker and semantic information from extra-linguistic domains such as co-speech gestures or the visual world. Here, we present results from recordings of event-related brain potentials that are inconsistent with this classical two-step model of language interpretation. Our data support a one-step model in which knowledge about the context and the world, concomitant information from other modalities, and the speaker are brought to bear immediately, by the same fast-acting brain system that combines the meanings of individual words into a message-level representation. Underlying the one-step model is the immediacy assumption, according to which all available information will immediately be used to co-determine the interpretation of the speaker's message. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data that we collected indicate that Broca's area plays an important role in semantic unification. Language comprehension involves the rapid incorporation of information in a 'single unification space', coming from a broader range of cognitive domains than presupposed in the standard two-step model of interpretation.

First-Order Classical Modal Logic

The paper focuses on extending to the first order case the semantical program for modalities first introduced by Dana Scott and Richard Montague. We focus on the study of neighborhood frames with constant domains and we offer in the first part of the paper a series of new completeness results for salient classical systems of first order modal logic. Among other results we show that it is possible to prove strong completeness results for normal systems without the Barcan Formula (like FOL + K)in terms of neighborhood frames with constant domains. The first order models we present permit the study of many epistemic modalities recently proposed in computer science as well as the development of adequate models for monadic operators of high probability. Models of this type are either difficult of impossible to build in terms of relational Kripkean semantics [40]. We conclude by introducing general first order neighborhood frames with constant domains and we offer a general completeness result for the entire family of classical first order modal systems in terms of them, circumventing some well-known problems of propositional and first order neighborhood semantics (mainly the fact that many classical modal logics are incomplete with respect to an unmodified version of either neighborhood or relational frames). We argue that the semantical program that thus arises offers the first complete semantic unification of the family of classical first order modal logics.

A preferential semantics for causal reasoning about action

One of the principal concerns in the research area of Reasoning about Action is determining the ramifications of actions in changing environments. A particular tendency emerging in recent literature endorses the explicit incorporation of causal knowledge in logic-based action theories. It is argued that causal extensions not only enhance the expressive power of theories of action, but may also provide more concise and intuitive representations. This paper investigates semantics for causal reasoning about action and change. It does so by exploring the role of several fundamental underlying principles, such as the Principle of Minimal Change and the Principle of Causal Change. This work culminates in a general unifying semantics for a class of action theories represented by a number of recent and influential approaches --- in particular, the causal relationship approach of Thielscher and the causal systems with fixed-points suggested by McCain and Turner. The unifying augmented preferential semantics, emerging as a result of this study, captures both Principles of Change and shows their clear and distinct roles.

Inconsistency and semantic unification

Baldwin et al. in their work Fril—fuzzy and evidential reasoning [Artificial Intelligence, Research Studies Press Ltd, Taunton, UK, 1995] present a semantic unification function for mass assignment logic. Its purpose is to evaluate the truth that a claim X is supported by evidence Y. This paper exposes some flaws with how the original unification function handles belief, possibility, and inconsistency. By making changes to the function this paper allows both interval and point-value semantic unification to be used in a more consistent and intuitive way.

Ways of Worlds I–II Two Special Issues on Possible Worlds and Related Notions

Ways of Worlds II is the second of two special issues of Studia Logica on possible worlds and related notions. Historical and philosophical tracking of possible worlds was partly, but not exclusively, the business of the first issue which was launched as volume 82, no. 3, 2006. This volume featured papers by M. Cresswell, S.O. Hansson, D. Jacquette, A.-V. Pietarinen, A. Varzi and A. Zanardo. Ways of Worlds II focuses more on applications and alternative frameworks. In ‘First Order Classical Modal Logic’ by H. Arlo-Costa and E. Pacuit, the stage is initially set for following D. Scott and R. Montague’s alternative framework for modalities known as neighborhood semantics. Completeness results are proved for a variety of classical systems of first order logic. Then the neighborhood frames with constant domains are used to study some recently proposed epistemic modalities together with models for monadic operators of high probability both of which are either very difficult or down-right impossible to model in standard relational Kripke-semantics. The paper is concluded with the presentation of a general first order neighborhood semantics which is strong enough to provide characterization results for the full family of classical first order modal systems. It is convincingly argued that the neighborhood semantics program is the first platform for the semantic unification of classical first order modal systems. In A. Brandenburger’s and H. Jerome Keisler’s ‘An Impossibility Result Theorem on Beliefs in Games’ a doxastic self-referential paradox in games is identified which in turn gives rise to a game-theoretic impossibility result similar to Russell’s paradox. The paradox is formalized using belief models and a first order language and the impossibility theorem then says that ‘No belief model can be complete for a language that contains first-order logic’ ! This interesting and surprising result may be interpreted as saying that if

Stative progressives in Korean and English

This paper inquires into the meaning of the progressive in Korean and English by focusing on its complementation restriction. Although the English progressive, due to its semantics of “process in progress”, cannot normally accept stative verbs such as know, love, have, etc., the Korean progressive ko iss form naturally occurs with them. Rather than proposing a different semantics of ko iss, such as general imperfective or resultative (Kim, 1993; Ahn, 1995), this paper suggests that know-type verbs in Korean are in fact event descriptions, or more specifically, inchoative eventualities, which indicate the inception of a continuous state. In so doing, this paper not only solves the stative verb complementation problem but also provides a unified semantics of ko iss as denoting a middle phase of a situation (Lee, 1991), encompassing both its on-going process and state readings. This analysis will also explain the difference between the Korean stative progressives and their English counterparts, the latter of which have been analyzed as instances of aspectual coercion (de Swart, 1998). The conclusions of this paper have broader implications concerning aspectual properties of psychological verbs in general, as well as the distribution of aspectual transitions in a language, both in the overt aspectual operators and in the covert coercion patterns.

Algebras of modal operators and partial correctness

Modal Kleene algebras are Kleene algebras enriched by forward and backward box and diamond operators. We formalise the symmetries of these operators as Galois connections, complementarities and dualities. We study their properties in the associated operator algebras and show that the axioms of relation algebra are theorems at the operator level. Modal Kleene algebras provide a unifying semantics for various program calculi and enhance efficient cross-theory reasoning in this class, often in a very concise pointfree style. This claim is supported by novel algebraic soundness and completeness proofs for Hoare logic and by connecting this formalism with an algebraic decision procedure.

Non-Adjunctive Inference and Classical Modalities

The article focuses on representing different forms of non-adjunctive inference as sub-Kripkean systems of classical modal logic, where the inference from □A and □B to □A∧B fails. In particular we prove a completeness result showing that the modal system that Schotch and Jennings derive from a form of non-adjunctive inference in (Schotch and Jennings, 1980) is a classical system strictly stronger than EMN and weaker than K (following the notation for classical modalities presented in Chellas, 1980). The unified semantical characterization in terms of neighborhoods permits comparisons between different forms of non-adjunctive inference. For example, we show that the non-adjunctive logic proposed in (Schotch and Jennings, 1980) is not adequate in general for representing the logic of high probability operators. An alternative interpretation of the forcing relation of Schotch and Jennings is derived from the proposed unified semantics and utilized in order to propose a more fine-grained measure of epistemic coherence than the one presented in (Schotch and Jennings, 1980). Finally we propose a syntactic translation of the purely implicative part of Jaśkowski's system D2 into a classical system preserving all the theorems (and non-theorems) explicilty mentioned in (Jaśkowski, 1969). The translation method can be used in order to develop epistemic semantics for a larger class of non-adjunctive (discursive) logics than the ones historically investigated by Jaśkowski.

Pragmatic semantic unification

The term unification is meaningful only with respect to applications. A term's meaning, or semantics, is evident in its use - if the application is successful, the terms have been used correctly. Unifying academic ontologies is unification in a vacuum. The only way to know if we have done it correctly is to test whether the applications associated with the terms interoperate successfully - a notion called pragmatic semantic unification. Ontologies should refer to applications, and unification success should be tested with interoperability.

Computational Effects and Operations: An Overview

We overview a programme to provide a unified semantics for computational effects based upon the notion of a countable enriched Lawvere theory. We define the notion of countable enriched Lawvere theory, show how the various leading examples of computational effects, except for continuations, give rise to them, and we compare the definition with that of a strong monad. We outline how one may use the notion to model three natural ways in which to combine computational effects: by their sum, by their commutative combination, and by distributivity. We also outline a unified account of operational semantics. We present results we have already shown, some partial results, and our plans for further development of the programme.