Valerie Barr | Bard College (original) (raw)
Papers by Valerie Barr
Communications of The ACM, Feb 1, 2010
Communications of The ACM, Sep 1, 2011
The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG... more The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of Communications , we'll publish selected posts or excerpts. twitter Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm Jeannette M. Wing discusses her PCAST presentation about the importance of computer science and its impact. Valerie Barr shares highlights from Barbara Liskov's keynote at Grace Hopper.
Computers & society, Dec 8, 2014
This paper is a response to the interview between Maria Klawe and Satya Nadella at the 2014 Grace... more This paper is a response to the interview between Maria Klawe and Satya Nadella at the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in a context of the history of the conference since 1994. Maria Klawe is president of Harvey Mudd College and member of the Microsoft board of directors. Satya Nadella is the CEO of Microsoft.
Communications of The ACM, Oct 23, 2015
One approach to verification and validation of language processing systems includes the verificat... more One approach to verification and validation of language processing systems includes the verification of system resources. In general, the grammar is a key resource in such systems. In this paper we discuss verification of lexicalized tree adjoining grammars (LTAGs) (Joshi and Schabes, 1997) as one instance of a system resource, and as one phase of a larger verification effort.
Communications of The ACM, Dec 1, 2013
If Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems are viewed as intelligent systems then we should be ... more If Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems are viewed as intelligent systems then we should be able to make use of verification and validation (V&V) approaches and methods that have been developed in the intelligent systems community. This paper addresses language engineering infrastructure issues by considering whether standard V&V methods are fundamentally different than the evaluation practices commonly used for NLP systems, and proposes practical approaches for applying V&V in the context of language processing systems. We argue that evaluation, as it is performed in the NL community, can be improved by supplementing it with methods from the V&V community.
National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2008
We believe that interdisciplinary connections have to be integrated into introductory computer sc... more We believe that interdisciplinary connections have to be integrated into introductory computer science courses in order to spark interest in computer science among a diverse group of undergraduate students. We also believe that AI can serve this function and have developed an introductory computer science course with a focus on AI, which we are currently (January 2008) teaching for the first time. This paper describes the course and we will report on our experiences with it at the symposium in March. Context This course is being developed in the context of a general restructuring of the computer science introductory sequence at Union College. Instead of a single introductory class that all majors go through, we will offer a collection of introductory classes each focusing on a different theme. Other themes, in addition to the AI theme, include robotics, media computation, game design, and scientific computing. All of these classes lead into a common course on data structures. This restructuring stems from the belief that today computing is an inherently interdisciplinary field. Computing issues are relevant in almost all areas of study and advances in computing are often driven by applications and needs in other fields. We hope to convey this to the students through these themed courses and to interest students who would not necessarily take a pure CS course. The students in the AI themed course will come from a variety of backgrounds. In addition to CS majors, neuroscience students will take this course to fulfill a computing requirement for their major and students from other majors will take this course to fulfill a general education requirement. The goal is that some of the students in the two latter groups continue studying computer science potentially leading to a minor, interdepartmental major or double major. Description of the Planned Course The course is an introduction to computer science and programming that uses artificial intelligence as an overarching theme. On the one hand, it will introduce students to algorithms, basic data structures, and program
ACM Inroads, Aug 15, 2018
S analysis of computer science degree data focuses on the percentage of degrees earned by women a... more S analysis of computer science degree data focuses on the percentage of degrees earned by women and men respectively, or on the percentage of degrees earned by racial and ethnic minorities respectively. This analysis is inaccurate because the groups involved are not the same size and their sizes have changed over time. Longitudinal comparisons are relevant only if statistics are computed separately for each cohort, examining the percentage of each cohort’s degrees earned in CS. The numerator should be the number of degrees earned in CS by a cohort, while the denominator should be all degrees earned by that cohort, not all degrees earned within the field.
National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Jul 27, 1997
Often a rule-based system is tested by checking its performance on a number of test cases with kn... more Often a rule-based system is tested by checking its performance on a number of test cases with known solutions, modifying the system until it, gives the correct results for all or a sufficiently high proportion of the test cases. This method cannot guarantee that the rule-base has been adequately or completely covered during the testing process. We introduce an approach to testing of rule-based systems which uses coverage measures to guide and evaluate the testing process. In addition, the coverage measures can be used to assist rule-base pruning and identification of class dependencies, and serve as the foundation for a set of test data selection heuristics. We also introduce a complexity metric for rule-bases.
ABSTRACT The Computing at School (CAS) Working Group aims to promote the teaching of computer sci... more ABSTRACT The Computing at School (CAS) Working Group aims to promote the teaching of computer science at school. CAS was born out of our excitement with our discipline, combined with a serious concern that many students are being "turned off" computing by a combination ...
Ecology Letters, Dec 25, 2019
The biotic resistance hypothesis predicts that diverse native communities are more resistant to i... more The biotic resistance hypothesis predicts that diverse native communities are more resistant to invasion. However, past studies vary in their support for this hypothesis due to an apparent contradiction between experimental studies, which support biotic resistance, and observational studies, which find that native and non-native species richness are positively related at broad scales (small-scale studies are more variable). Here, we present a novel analysis of the biotic resistance hypothesis using 24 456 observations of plant richness spanning four community types and seven ecoregions of the United States. Non-native plant occurrence was negatively related to native plant richness across all community types and ecoregions, although the strength of biotic resistance varied across different ecological, anthropogenic and climatic contexts. Our results strongly support the biotic resistance hypothesis, thus reconciling differences between experimental and observational studies and providing evidence for the shared benefits between invasive species management and native biodiversity conservation.
A multi-year effort, led by the Union College computer science (CS) department, in collaboration ... more A multi-year effort, led by the Union College computer science (CS) department, in collaboration with two dozen non-CS faculty, resulted in the infusion of a computational component in many non-CS courses and the development of a number of new intermediate-level CS courses. Many of these changes and additions have persisted well beyond the end of the official project period. In this chapter we explore the collaborative mechanisms and the kinds of course changes undertaken.
Communications of The ACM, 2017
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Jun 1, 2012
This paper describes an approach to introductory CS that is based on numerous theme-based introdu... more This paper describes an approach to introductory CS that is based on numerous theme-based introductory courses, with resulting improvements in overall enrollments and gender diversity.
With the declining interest among incoming college students and the nationwide drop in computer s... more With the declining interest among incoming college students and the nationwide drop in computer science (CS) enrollments ([2, 1]), many CS departments would like to broaden participation in computing by reaching out to other departments on their campuses. One tactic is to encourage interdisciplinary work that has computing as a significant component. These efforts may result in more CS majors, increased enrollments in certain CS courses, and a student population that is better equipped to utilize computing within the contexts of their disciplines. This panel presents three approaches to building bridges to other departments and disciplines. Rich Salter, Oberlin College, will discuss the involvement of CS in the Oberlin Center for Computation and Modeling. Chun Wai Liew, Lafayette College, will discuss ways in which the CS department has built tools specifically to assist faculty in other departments, facilitating student exposure to and understanding of computation. Valerie Barr, Union College, will focus on the infusion of computation into course curricula outside CS, often coupling the use of existing tools with discussion of the underlying models and computational issues.
Communications of The ACM, Feb 1, 2010
Communications of The ACM, Sep 1, 2011
The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG... more The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of Communications , we'll publish selected posts or excerpts. twitter Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm Jeannette M. Wing discusses her PCAST presentation about the importance of computer science and its impact. Valerie Barr shares highlights from Barbara Liskov's keynote at Grace Hopper.
Computers & society, Dec 8, 2014
This paper is a response to the interview between Maria Klawe and Satya Nadella at the 2014 Grace... more This paper is a response to the interview between Maria Klawe and Satya Nadella at the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in a context of the history of the conference since 1994. Maria Klawe is president of Harvey Mudd College and member of the Microsoft board of directors. Satya Nadella is the CEO of Microsoft.
Communications of The ACM, Oct 23, 2015
One approach to verification and validation of language processing systems includes the verificat... more One approach to verification and validation of language processing systems includes the verification of system resources. In general, the grammar is a key resource in such systems. In this paper we discuss verification of lexicalized tree adjoining grammars (LTAGs) (Joshi and Schabes, 1997) as one instance of a system resource, and as one phase of a larger verification effort.
Communications of The ACM, Dec 1, 2013
If Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems are viewed as intelligent systems then we should be ... more If Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems are viewed as intelligent systems then we should be able to make use of verification and validation (V&V) approaches and methods that have been developed in the intelligent systems community. This paper addresses language engineering infrastructure issues by considering whether standard V&V methods are fundamentally different than the evaluation practices commonly used for NLP systems, and proposes practical approaches for applying V&V in the context of language processing systems. We argue that evaluation, as it is performed in the NL community, can be improved by supplementing it with methods from the V&V community.
National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2008
We believe that interdisciplinary connections have to be integrated into introductory computer sc... more We believe that interdisciplinary connections have to be integrated into introductory computer science courses in order to spark interest in computer science among a diverse group of undergraduate students. We also believe that AI can serve this function and have developed an introductory computer science course with a focus on AI, which we are currently (January 2008) teaching for the first time. This paper describes the course and we will report on our experiences with it at the symposium in March. Context This course is being developed in the context of a general restructuring of the computer science introductory sequence at Union College. Instead of a single introductory class that all majors go through, we will offer a collection of introductory classes each focusing on a different theme. Other themes, in addition to the AI theme, include robotics, media computation, game design, and scientific computing. All of these classes lead into a common course on data structures. This restructuring stems from the belief that today computing is an inherently interdisciplinary field. Computing issues are relevant in almost all areas of study and advances in computing are often driven by applications and needs in other fields. We hope to convey this to the students through these themed courses and to interest students who would not necessarily take a pure CS course. The students in the AI themed course will come from a variety of backgrounds. In addition to CS majors, neuroscience students will take this course to fulfill a computing requirement for their major and students from other majors will take this course to fulfill a general education requirement. The goal is that some of the students in the two latter groups continue studying computer science potentially leading to a minor, interdepartmental major or double major. Description of the Planned Course The course is an introduction to computer science and programming that uses artificial intelligence as an overarching theme. On the one hand, it will introduce students to algorithms, basic data structures, and program
ACM Inroads, Aug 15, 2018
S analysis of computer science degree data focuses on the percentage of degrees earned by women a... more S analysis of computer science degree data focuses on the percentage of degrees earned by women and men respectively, or on the percentage of degrees earned by racial and ethnic minorities respectively. This analysis is inaccurate because the groups involved are not the same size and their sizes have changed over time. Longitudinal comparisons are relevant only if statistics are computed separately for each cohort, examining the percentage of each cohort’s degrees earned in CS. The numerator should be the number of degrees earned in CS by a cohort, while the denominator should be all degrees earned by that cohort, not all degrees earned within the field.
National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Jul 27, 1997
Often a rule-based system is tested by checking its performance on a number of test cases with kn... more Often a rule-based system is tested by checking its performance on a number of test cases with known solutions, modifying the system until it, gives the correct results for all or a sufficiently high proportion of the test cases. This method cannot guarantee that the rule-base has been adequately or completely covered during the testing process. We introduce an approach to testing of rule-based systems which uses coverage measures to guide and evaluate the testing process. In addition, the coverage measures can be used to assist rule-base pruning and identification of class dependencies, and serve as the foundation for a set of test data selection heuristics. We also introduce a complexity metric for rule-bases.
ABSTRACT The Computing at School (CAS) Working Group aims to promote the teaching of computer sci... more ABSTRACT The Computing at School (CAS) Working Group aims to promote the teaching of computer science at school. CAS was born out of our excitement with our discipline, combined with a serious concern that many students are being "turned off" computing by a combination ...
Ecology Letters, Dec 25, 2019
The biotic resistance hypothesis predicts that diverse native communities are more resistant to i... more The biotic resistance hypothesis predicts that diverse native communities are more resistant to invasion. However, past studies vary in their support for this hypothesis due to an apparent contradiction between experimental studies, which support biotic resistance, and observational studies, which find that native and non-native species richness are positively related at broad scales (small-scale studies are more variable). Here, we present a novel analysis of the biotic resistance hypothesis using 24 456 observations of plant richness spanning four community types and seven ecoregions of the United States. Non-native plant occurrence was negatively related to native plant richness across all community types and ecoregions, although the strength of biotic resistance varied across different ecological, anthropogenic and climatic contexts. Our results strongly support the biotic resistance hypothesis, thus reconciling differences between experimental and observational studies and providing evidence for the shared benefits between invasive species management and native biodiversity conservation.
A multi-year effort, led by the Union College computer science (CS) department, in collaboration ... more A multi-year effort, led by the Union College computer science (CS) department, in collaboration with two dozen non-CS faculty, resulted in the infusion of a computational component in many non-CS courses and the development of a number of new intermediate-level CS courses. Many of these changes and additions have persisted well beyond the end of the official project period. In this chapter we explore the collaborative mechanisms and the kinds of course changes undertaken.
Communications of The ACM, 2017
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Jun 1, 2012
This paper describes an approach to introductory CS that is based on numerous theme-based introdu... more This paper describes an approach to introductory CS that is based on numerous theme-based introductory courses, with resulting improvements in overall enrollments and gender diversity.
With the declining interest among incoming college students and the nationwide drop in computer s... more With the declining interest among incoming college students and the nationwide drop in computer science (CS) enrollments ([2, 1]), many CS departments would like to broaden participation in computing by reaching out to other departments on their campuses. One tactic is to encourage interdisciplinary work that has computing as a significant component. These efforts may result in more CS majors, increased enrollments in certain CS courses, and a student population that is better equipped to utilize computing within the contexts of their disciplines. This panel presents three approaches to building bridges to other departments and disciplines. Rich Salter, Oberlin College, will discuss the involvement of CS in the Oberlin Center for Computation and Modeling. Chun Wai Liew, Lafayette College, will discuss ways in which the CS department has built tools specifically to assist faculty in other departments, facilitating student exposure to and understanding of computation. Valerie Barr, Union College, will focus on the infusion of computation into course curricula outside CS, often coupling the use of existing tools with discussion of the underlying models and computational issues.