pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Intensionalizing Abstract Meaning Representations: Non-Veridicality and Scope
Authors: Gregor Williamson, Patrick Elliott, Yuxin Ji, Jinho D. Choi
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Proceeding: EMNLP (LAW, DMR) 2021 11
Tasks: Abstract Meaning Representation, Translation

Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) is a graphical meaning representation language designed to represent propositional information about argument structure. However, at present it is unable to satisfyingly represent non-veridical intensional contexts, often licensing inappropriate inferences. In this paper, we show how to resolve the problem of non-veridicality without appealing to layered graphs through a mapping from AMRs into Simply-Typed Lambda Calculus (STLC). At least for some cases, this requires the introduction of a new role :content which functions as an intensional operator. The translation proposed is inspired by the formal linguistics literature on the event semantics of attitude reports. Next, we address the interaction of quantifier scope and intensional operators in so-called de re/de dicto ambiguities. We adopt a scope node from the literature and provide an explicit multidimensional semantics utilizing Cooper storage which allows us to derive the de re and de dicto scope readings as well as intermediate scope readings which prove difficult for accounts without a scope node.
StreamSide: A Fully-Customizable Open-Source Toolkit for Efficient Annotation of Meaning Representations
Authors: Jinho D. Choi, Gregor Williamson
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Tasks: Abstract Meaning Representation, Sentence

This demonstration paper presents StreamSide, an open-source toolkit for annotating multiple kinds of meaning representations. StreamSide supports frame-based annotation schemes e.g., Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) and frameless annotation schemes e.g., Widely Interpretable Semantic Representation (WISeR). Moreover, it supports both sentence-level and document-level annotation by allowing annotators to create multi-rooted graphs for input text. It can open and automatically convert between several types of input formats including plain text, Penman notation, and its own JSON format enabling richer annotation. It features reference frames for AMR predicate argument structures, and also concept-to-text alignment. StreamSide is released under the Apache 2.0 license, and is completely open-source so that it can be customized to annotate enriched meaning representations in different languages (e.g., Uniform Meaning Representations). All StreamSide resources are publicly distributed through our open source project at: https://github.com/emorynlp/StreamSide.
Transforming Fake News: Robust Generalisable News Classification Using Transformers
Authors: Ciara Blackledge, Amir Atapour-Abarghouei
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Tasks: Articles, Binary Classification, Classification, News Classification

As online news has become increasingly popular and fake news increasingly prevalent, the ability to audit the veracity of online news content has become more important than ever. Such a task represents a binary classification challenge, for which transformers have achieved state-of-the-art results. Using the publicly available ISOT and Combined Corpus datasets, this study explores transformers' abilities to identify fake news, with particular attention given to investigating generalisation to unseen datasets with varying styles, topics and class distributions. Moreover, we explore the idea that opinion-based news articles cannot be classified as real or fake due to their subjective nature and often sensationalised language, and propose a novel two-step classification pipeline to remove such articles from both model training and the final deployed inference system. Experiments over the ISOT and Combined Corpus datasets show that transformers achieve an increase in F1 scores of up to 4.9% for out of distribution generalisation compared to baseline approaches, with a further increase of 10.1% following the implementation of our two-step classification pipeline. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate generalisation of transformers in this context.
Dependency Induction Through the Lens of Visual Perception
Authors: Ruisi Su, Shruti Rijhwani, Hao Zhu, Junxian He, Xinyu Wang, Yonatan Bisk, Graham Neubig
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Proceeding: CoNLL (EMNLP) 2021 11
Tasks: Constituency Grammar Induction, Constituency Parsing, Dependency Parsing

Most previous work on grammar induction focuses on learning phrasal or dependency structure purely from text. However, because the signal provided by text alone is limited, recently introduced visually grounded syntax models make use of multimodal information leading to improved performance in constituency grammar induction. However, as compared to dependency grammars, constituency grammars do not provide a straightforward way to incorporate visual information without enforcing language-specific heuristics. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised grammar induction model that leverages word concreteness and a structural vision-based heuristic to jointly learn constituency-structure and dependency-structure grammars. Our experiments find that concreteness is a strong indicator for learning dependency grammars, improving the direct attachment score (DAS) by over 50\% as compared to state-of-the-art models trained on pure text. Next, we propose an extension of our model that leverages both word concreteness and visual semantic role labels in constituency and dependency parsing. Our experiments show that the proposed extension outperforms the current state-of-the-art visually grounded models in constituency parsing even with a smaller grammar size.
BERT Has Uncommon Sense: Similarity Ranking for Word Sense BERTology
Authors: Luke Gessler, Nathan Schneider
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Proceeding: EMNLP (BlackboxNLP) 2021 11
Tasks: Retrieval

An important question concerning contextualized word embedding (CWE) models like BERT is how well they can represent different word senses, especially those in the long tail of uncommon senses. Rather than build a WSD system as in previous work, we investigate contextualized embedding neighborhoods directly, formulating a query-by-example nearest neighbor retrieval task and examining ranking performance for words and senses in different frequency bands. In an evaluation on two English sense-annotated corpora, we find that several popular CWE models all outperform a random baseline even for proportionally rare senses, without explicit sense supervision. However, performance varies considerably even among models with similar architectures and pretraining regimes, with especially large differences for rare word senses, revealing that CWE models are not all created equal when it comes to approximating word senses in their native representations.
DisCoDisCo at the DISRPT2021 Shared Task: A System for Discourse Segmentation, Classification, and Connective Detection
Authors: Luke Gessler, Shabnam Behzad, Yang Janet Liu, Siyao Peng, YIlun Zhu, Amir Zeldes
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Proceeding: EMNLP (DISRPT) 2021 11
Tasks: Classification, Connective Detection, Discourse Parsing, Discourse Segmentation, Relation, Relation Classification, Segmentation, Sentence, Word Embeddings

This paper describes our submission to the DISRPT2021 Shared Task on Discourse Unit Segmentation, Connective Detection, and Relation Classification. Our system, called DisCoDisCo, is a Transformer-based neural classifier which enhances contextualized word embeddings (CWEs) with hand-crafted features, relying on tokenwise sequence tagging for discourse segmentation and connective detection, and a feature-rich, encoder-less sentence pair classifier for relation classification. Our results for the first two tasks outperform SOTA scores from the previous 2019 shared task, and results on relation classification suggest strong performance on the new 2021 benchmark. Ablation tests show that including features beyond CWEs are helpful for both tasks, and a partial evaluation of multiple pre-trained Transformer-based language models indicates that models pre-trained on the Next Sentence Prediction (NSP) task are optimal for relation classification.
Sharp global convergence guarantees for iterative nonconvex optimization: A Gaussian process perspective
Authors: Kabir Aladin Chandrasekher, Ashwin Pananjady, Christos Thrampoulidis
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Tasks: parameter estimation, Retrieval

We consider a general class of regression models with normally distributed covariates, and the associated nonconvex problem of fitting these models from data. We develop a general recipe for analyzing the convergence of iterative algorithms for this task from a random initialization. In particular, provided each iteration can be written as the solution to a convex optimization problem satisfying some natural conditions, we leverage Gaussian comparison theorems to derive a deterministic sequence that provides sharp upper and lower bounds on the error of the algorithm with sample-splitting. Crucially, this deterministic sequence accurately captures both the convergence rate of the algorithm and the eventual error floor in the finite-sample regime, and is distinct from the commonly used "population" sequence that results from taking the infinite-sample limit. We apply our general framework to derive several concrete consequences for parameter estimation in popular statistical models including phase retrieval and mixtures of regressions. Provided the sample size scales near-linearly in the dimension, we show sharp global convergence rates for both higher-order algorithms based on alternating updates and first-order algorithms based on subgradient descent. These corollaries, in turn, yield multiple consequences, including: (a) Proof that higher-order algorithms can converge significantly faster than their first-order counterparts (and sometimes super-linearly), even if the two share the same population update and (b) Intricacies in super-linear convergence behavior for higher-order algorithms, which can be nonstandard (e.g., with exponent 3/2) and sensitive to the noise level in the problem. We complement these results with extensive numerical experiments, which show excellent agreement with our theoretical predictions.
Deviation-Based Learning: Training Recommender Systems Using Informed User Choice
Authors: Junpei Komiyama, Shunya Noda
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Tasks: Recommendation Systems

This paper proposes a new approach to training recommender systems called deviation-based learning. The recommender and rational users have different knowledge. The recommender learns user knowledge by observing what action users take upon receiving recommendations. Learning eventually stalls if the recommender always suggests a choice: Before the recommender completes learning, users start following the recommendations blindly, and their choices do not reflect their knowledge. The learning rate and social welfare improve substantially if the recommender abstains from recommending a particular choice when she predicts that multiple alternatives will produce a similar payoff.
Towards a computational definition of the tresillo rhythm and its tracing in popular music
Authors: Pushkar Jajoria, Florian Krenn, Aurel Mäder
Date: 2021-09-21 00:00:00
Tasks: Rhythm

This paper discusses the use and popularity of a rhythm, which henceforth is referred to as "Tresillo rhythm". We first define and formalizes the Tresillo rhythm. Given a mathematical representation of the rhythm, it is then traced in the US Billboard Top 20 Charts of the last 20 years. To detect and determine the use of this rhythm in a song, we compute the similarity of a song with this rhythm. The calculated similarity, then indicates how similar the rhythm of a pop song is compared to the prior defined Tresillo rhythm. To assert and cross-validate the computer rhythm similarity, two different formalizations of the Tresillo rhythm have been compiled and several different approaches to calculated rhythm similarities have been tested and compared. This similarity measure is then used to do an empirical study on the usage of the Tresillo rhythm in the US Billboard Top 20 Charts of the past 20 years (1999-2019). Finally, we argue about some of the possible reasons for the observed trend.
WorldKG: A World-Scale Geographic Knowledge Graph
Authors: Alishiba Dsouza, Nicolas Tempelmeier, Ran Yu, Simon Gottschalk, Elena Demidova
Date: 2021-09-21 00:00:00

OpenStreetMap is a rich source of openly available geographic information. However, the representation of geographic entities, e.g., buildings, mountains, and cities, within OpenStreetMap is highly heterogeneous, diverse, and incomplete. As a result, this rich data source is hardly usable for real-world applications. This paper presents WorldKG -- a new geographic knowledge graph aiming to provide a comprehensive semantic representation of geographic entities in OpenStreetMap. We describe the WorldKG knowledge graph, including its ontology that builds the semantic dataset backbone, the extraction procedure of the ontology and geographic entities from OpenStreetMap, and the methods to enhance entity annotation. We perform statistical and qualitative dataset assessment, demonstrating the large scale and high precision of the semantic geographic information in WorldKG.
When expertise gone missing: Uncovering the loss of prolific contributors in Wikipedia
Authors: Paramita Das, Bhanu Prakash Reddy Guda, Debajit Chakraborty, Soumya Sarkar, Animesh Mukherjee
Date: 2021-09-21 00:00:00
Tasks: Information Retrieval, Retrieval

Success of planetary-scale online collaborative platforms such as Wikipedia is hinged on active and continued participation of its voluntary contributors. The phenomenal success of Wikipedia as a valued multilingual source of information is a testament to the possibilities of collective intelligence. Specifically, the sustained and prudent contributions by the experienced prolific editors play a crucial role to operate the platform smoothly for decades. However, it has been brought to light that growth of Wikipedia is stagnating in terms of the number of editors that faces steady decline over time. This decreasing productivity and ever increasing attrition rate in both newcomer and experienced editors is a major concern for not only the future of this platform but also for several industry-scale information retrieval systems such as Siri, Alexa which depend on Wikipedia as knowledge store. In this paper, we have studied the ongoing crisis in which experienced and prolific editors withdraw. We performed extensive analysis of the editor activities and their language usage to identify features that can forecast prolific Wikipedians, who are at risk of ceasing voluntary services. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work which proposes a scalable prediction pipeline, towards detecting the prolific Wikipedians, who might be at a risk of retiring from the platform and, thereby, can potentially enable moderators to launch appropriate incentive mechanisms to retain such `would-be missing' valued Wikipedians.
The Vision and the Perspective of Digital Tourism
Authors: Olga Kononova, Dmitry Prokudin, Julia Ryabysko
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00

The dynamics of the modern information society changes the usual areas of human activity, generates various innovations based on the widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Virtually, every activity today is technology related. In these conditions, scientific activity is also changing. Digitalization processes act as integrative to various scientific directions, which form the base for interdisciplinary scientific research. The study of their formation is an important scientific task aimed at predicting the development of both science and society as a whole. In this study, based on the integrated use of ICTs, we consider methods of the terminology base analysis in various interdisciplinary research directions on the instance of tourism in the digital age. The development of scientific interest in the area of digital tourism in Russian and global scientific discourses is also compared. The purpose of this paper is to proof the relevance of scientific study in the field of tourism digitalization, to identify the generic directions and trends of digital tourism, and to specify technologies for the implementation of digital tourism using the case study of St. Petersburg.
Cuffless Blood Pressure Estimation from Electrocardiogram and Photoplethysmogram Using Waveform Based ANN-LSTM Network
Authors: Md. Sayed Tanveer and Md. Kamrul Hasan∗
Date: 2018-11-06 00:00:00
Proceeding: journal 2018 11
Tasks: Blood pressure estimation, Feature Engineering

Goal: Although photoplethysmogram (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals can be used to estimate blood
pressure (BP) by extracting various features, the changes in morphological contours of both PPG and ECG signals due
to various diseases of circulatory system and interaction of other physiological systems make the extraction of such features
very difficult. Methods: In this work, we propose a waveformbased hierarchical Artificial Neural Network–Long Short Term
Memory (ANN-LSTM) model for BP estimation. The model consists of two hierarchy levels, where the lower hierarchy level
uses ANNs to extract necessary morphological features from ECG and PPG waveforms and the upper hierarchy level uses
LSTM layers to account for the time domain variation of the features extracted by lower hierarchy level. Results: The proposed model is evaluated on 39 subjects using the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentations (AAMI) standard and the British Hypertension Society (BHS) standard. The method satisfies both the standards in the estimation of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). For the proposed network, the mean absolute error (MAE) and the root mean square error (RMSE) for SBP estimation are 1.10 and 1.56 mmHg, respectively, and for DBP estimation are 0.58 and 0.85 mmHg, respectively. Conclusion: The performance of the proposed hierarchical ANN-LSTM model is found to be better than the other feature engineering-based networks. It is shown that the proposed model is able to automatically extract the necessary features and their time domain variations to estimate BP reliably in a noninvasive continuous manner. Significance: The method is expected to greatly facilitate the presently available mobile health-care gadgets in continuous BP estimation.
Nyquist-Sampling and Degrees of Freedom of Electromagnetic Fields
Authors: Andrea Pizzo, Andrea de Jesus Torres, Luca Sanguinetti, Thomas L. Marzetta
Date: 2021-09-21 00:00:00

A signal space approach is presented to study the Nyquist sampling, number of degrees of freedom and reconstruction of an electromagnetic field under arbitrary scattering conditions. Conventional signal processing tools, such as the multidimensional sampling theorem and Fourier theory, are used to provide a linear system theoretic interpretation of electromagnetic wave propagation, thereby revealing the spatially bandlimited nature of electromagnetic fields. Their spatial bandwidth is dictated by the selectivity of the underlying scattering that allows establishing the Nyquist spatial sampling with a reduction of the number of fields samples needed to be processed.
Virtual Reality Gaming on the Cloud: A Reality Check
Authors: Sihao Zhao, Hatem Abou-zeid, Ramy Atawia, Yoga Suhas Kuruba Manjunath, Akram Bin Sediq, Xiao-Ping Zhang
Date: 2021-09-21 00:00:00
Tasks: Management

Cloud virtual reality (VR) gaming traffic characteristics such as frame size, inter-arrival time, and latency need to be carefully studied as a first step toward scalable VR cloud service provisioning. To this end, in this paper we analyze the behavior of VR gaming traffic and Quality of Service (QoS) when VR rendering is conducted remotely in the cloud. We first build a VR testbed utilizing a cloud server, a commercial VR headset, and an off-the-shelf WiFi router. Using this testbed, we collect and process cloud VR gaming traffic data from different games under a number of network conditions and fixed and adaptive video encoding schemes. To analyze the application-level characteristics such as video frame size, frame inter-arrival time, frame loss and frame latency, we develop an interval threshold based identification method for video frames. Based on the frame identification results, we present two statistical models that capture the behaviour of the VR gaming video traffic. The models can be used by researchers and practitioners to generate VR traffic models for simulations and experiments - and are paramount in designing advanced radio resource management (RRM) and network optimization for cloud VR gaming services. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first measurement study and analysis conducted using a commercial cloud VR gaming platform, and under both fixed and adaptive bitrate streaming. We make our VR traffic data-sets publicly available for further research by the community.
Stochastic MPC with Multi-modal Predictions for Traffic Intersections
Authors: Siddharth H. Nair, Vijay Govindarajan, Theresa Lin, Chris Meissen, H. Eric Tseng, Francesco Borrelli
Date: 2021-09-20 00:00:00
Tasks: Autonomous Driving, Collision Avoidance, Computational Efficiency

We propose a Stochastic MPC (SMPC) formulation for autonomous driving at traffic intersections which incorporates multi-modal predictions of surrounding vehicles for collision avoidance constraints. The multi-modal predictions are obtained with Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) and constraints are formulated as chance-constraints. Our main theoretical contribution is a SMPC formulation that optimizes over a novel feedback policy class designed to exploit additional structure in the GMM predictions, and that is amenable to convex programming. The use of feedback policies for prediction is motivated by the need for reduced conservatism in handling multi-modal predictions of the surrounding vehicles, especially prevalent in traffic intersection scenarios. We evaluate our algorithm along axes of mobility, comfort, conservatism and computational efficiency at a simulated intersection in CARLA. Our simulations use a kinematic bicycle model and multimodal predictions trained on a subset of the Lyft Level 5 prediction dataset. To demonstrate the impact of optimizing over feedback policies, we compare our algorithm with two SMPC baselines that handle multi-modal collision avoidance chance constraints by optimizing over open-loop sequences.
An AI-assisted Economic Model of Endogenous Mobility and Infectious Diseases: The Case of COVID-19 in the United States
Authors: Lin William Cong, Ke Tang, Bing Wang, Jingyuan Wang
Date: 2021-09-21 00:00:00
Tasks: Epidemiology

We build a deep-learning-based SEIR-AIM model integrating the classical Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed epidemiology model with forecast modules of infection, community mobility, and unemployment. Through linking Google's multi-dimensional mobility index to economic activities, public health status, and mitigation policies, our AI-assisted model captures the populace's endogenous response to economic incentives and health risks. In addition to being an effective predictive tool, our analyses reveal that the long-term effective reproduction number of COVID-19 equilibrates around one before mass vaccination using data from the United States. We identify a "policy frontier" and identify reopening schools and workplaces to be the most effective. We also quantify protestors' employment-value-equivalence of the Black Lives Matter movement and find that its public health impact to be negligible.