N L D B ' 97 * Third Workshop on Applications of Natural Language to Information Systems * Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, JUNE 25-27 1997 CALL FOR PAPERS This workshop aims at bringing together researchers and potential industrial end users interested in various applications of natural language in the database and information systems field. The integration of databases, natural language processing and linguistic theory has been a long term goal. The convergence of research in the two technologies is mainly due to the progress of research in natural language and to the development of new technologies which allow the storage of semantic electronic dictionaries. Each aspect of the life cycle of an information system may be improved by using natural language techniques: database design (specification, validation, conflict resolution), database query languages and consulting programs that use new software engineering research allowing natural language program specifications. As information systems are now evolving into the communication area, the term databases should be considered in the broader sense of information and communication systems. Previous workshops have been held in Versailles and Amsterdam, and have attracted researchers from Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. In addition to a workshop proceedings, selected papers have in the past been submitted for review and publication in special editions of the Journal of Knowledge and Data Engineering. TOPICS: Major topics of interest of previous workshops will include: * Conceptual Modelling o Conceptual modelling and linguistic knowledge o Analysis of natural language descriptions into conceptual models o Verification of conceptual models by paraphrasing * Natural Language Interfaces o Natural languages interfaces for database querying o Verification of database queries by paraphrasing * Hypertext and Hyperbases o Hypertext as a navigation tool o Generating hypertext from data sources * Information Retrieval o Semantic analysis for information retrieval * View Integration and multidatabase systems o Linguistic aspects of view integration o Natural language queries to multidatabase systems and data warehouses * Large-scale Online Linguistic Resources o electronic dictionaries o question-answer corpora INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS: To contribute, please submit 4 copies of an original paper which does not exceed 5000 words, including a short abstract, to the program committee chairman: Paul McFetridge Department of Linguistics Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. Canada, V5A 1S6 mcfet@cs.sfu.ca phone: 1-604-291-3632 fax: 1-604-291-5659 IMPORTANT DATES : PAPER SUBMISSION DEADLINE: January 15, 1997 Notification of acceptance: March 15, 1997 Camera-ready paper: May 1, 1997 SUPPORTING EVENTS: The organizers would like to provide for opportunities to disseminate work in a variety of ways. Those interested in preparing tutorials or panel discussions are invited to contact the program chair. SETTING: Vancouver is noted for the beauty of its physical setting and its multiculural climate. It is an entrance to the west coast of Canada and the U.S.A. as well as to the Pacific Rim nations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROGRAM COMMITTEE Chair: Paul McFetridge, Simon Fraser University, Canada Ana Paula L. Ambrosio, Universidade do Goias, Brazil Elisa Bertino, Universita' di Milano, Italy A.T. Berztiss, University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. Mokrane Bouzeghoub, PRiSM. Universit de Versailles, France Hans Burg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands Nick Cercone, University of Regina, Canada Isabelle Comyn-Wattiau, Essec, France Roland Dachelet, Inria, France Anne De Roeck, University of Essex, UK Jan Dietz, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Frank Dignum, Eindhoven University of Technolgy, The Netherlands Christian Fluhr, CEA, France Sabine Geldof, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium Randy Goebel, University of Alberta, Canada Jon Atle Gulla, Norway Henri Habrias, Universit de Nantes, France Howard Hamilton, University of Regina, Canada Kees Koster, Universiteit Nijmegen, The Netherlands Elisabeth Metais, PRiSM. Universit de Versailles, France Anton Nijholt, Universiteit Twente, The Netherlands T Pattabhiraman, Seagate Software, Canada Reind van der Reit, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands Bram van der Vos, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands Hans Weigand, Universiteit Babant, The Netherlands ----------------------------------------------------------------------------