The Data Science Institute at Bar-Ilan University

DSI Retreat 2022 – Member Content Submission

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Please use this form to post the content you plan to share in the retreat.

  • Your Details

  • Your Presentation

    A four minute presentation including two slides according to the following scheme: *One slide about who you are, your background, your research interests, and what set of skills you bring with you. * The second slide should focus on what you expect to gain from the meeting including ongoing collaboration you have with DSI members and potential collaboration that you will be happy to initiate during this meeting.

  • A 10-20 minute inspirational talk you can give

    Suggest an inspirational talk to a topic you find relevant/interesting to this audience. The idea is NOT to talk about your own work but rather to review a topic or some kind of tutorial that can interest the general audience. Examples of possible types of talks: * An overview of a certain field of study * A tutorial on a certain data science method * Share details of an interesting recent spotlight work of interest in your field * Cover one or more open issues in your area of research

ERC Advanced Project — Researchers needed

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Looking for researchers for an ERC Advanced Project entitled :

“Generating Voluntary Compliance Across Doctrines and Nations: Integrating the Behavioural and Regulatory Aspects of Governments’ Ability to Trust the Public’s Cooperation, Ethicality and Compliance”.

PI Prof. Yuval Feldman BIU Law Faculty

Short Description of the Project

The gains of enhancing the public’s intrinsically motivated voluntary compliance with regulations has made it an advantageous form of governance, as the recent Covid pandemic has demonstrated. However, without reliance on command and control regulation as well as coercion and sanctions is limited by the extent to which governments and regulators can trust the public voluntary cooperation without jeopardizing regulatory purposes and harming other social values. Identifying and analyzing the antecedents of effective and sustainable  and trust enhancing voluntary compliance across doctrines and countries can improve our theoretical understanding of the interaction between democratic governments and their residents, as well as evaluate the relative efficacy of the different behaviorally-based regulatory tools. The project attempts to develop a new model and methodologies that will facilitate a systematic comparison and subsequently predictions of the relative efficacy and legitimacy of voluntary compliance across different legal doctrines such as tax law, environmental law public health and commercial ethics. In addition, it will explore if and to what extent VC can be achieved across high and low trust countries and communities in Europe and beyond.

The project will be based on multiple methods including, surveys, experimental surveys, incentivized lab and online experiments, panel studies, cross sectional studies, econometric studies on governmental databases and text mining.

For this project we are looking for candidates with strong quantitative methodological backgrounds coming from disciplines such as statistics, economics, public policy, psychology and political sciences . There is a need for both junior researchers (e.g. MA) and more senior researchers (e.g. Postdocs)

Please send CV to Yuval.feldman@biu.ac.il 

BIU granted 10.1 million NIS from Israel’s The Planning & Budgeting Committee (VATAT)

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We are happy to share that BIU was recently granted 10.1 million NIS from Israel’s The Planning & Budgeting Committee (VATAT) for 4 data science projects in the areas of NLP, Vision, Speech and BioInformatics.

The list of projects:

  • AUDIENCE: Audio-Visual Analysis and Separation 
    • Sharon Gannot, Ethan Fetaya, Jacob Goldberger (Engineering)
  • Learning Dynamic Vision and Language 
    • Gal Chechik (Brain), Reut Tsarfaty, Yoav Goldberg (Computer Science)
  • SeqSpace: Supervised Prediction on Unstructured Data 
    • Gur Yaari (Eng), Yoram Louzoun (Math), Omry Koren (Medicine),  Sol Efroni (Life Sciences)
  • Language-portable NLP Infrastructure with Hebrew Data Science as a Case Study
    • Reut Tsarfaty, Ido Dagan, Yoav Goldberg (Computer Science)

Congrats to the winning PIs.

List of DSI grant winners – TASHPA

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In Tashpa the Data Science Institute circulated a call to its members for data science projects.  

The competitive call received submissions by 46 PIs from 21 Departments.  14 projects by 21 PIs were accepted and granted a total of 900,000₪. The list of accepted grants:

Primary PIPI2Title
Dr. Dana AtzilRevealing Verbal and Non-Verbal Signals of Positive Change in the Treatment of Depression via Multimodal Machine Learning
Prof. Hanoch SenderowitzProf. Leonid Eidelman*Using machine learning to predict post-surgical complications from changes in element composition in different surgical cohorts
Dr. Mor MitraniAn NLP-based platform for studying international relations
Prof. Oren PerezDr. Milana Frenkel-MorgensternOptimizing the Realization of Legal Rights by Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients Using AI
Prof. Ilanit GordonDr. Ronny BartschPredicting team-development from social affect regulation through the analysis of physiological networks
Prof. Michal AlbersteinDr. Avshalom ElmalechData-driven MultiDoor Conflict Resolution-based Recommendation System
Prof. Sarit KrausDr. Eliran HalaliAI for Explaining Decisions in Multi-Agent Environments (XMASE)
Dr. Elana Zion GolumbicWhen human neurophysiology meets NLP: Deciphering the neural code for understanding real-life Hebrew speech
Dr. Rose StampDr. Svetlana Dachkovsky*The First Comparative Corpus of Emotional Displays by Deaf & Hearing people
Dr. Yaakov MamanPredictive tool for antigen receptors’ gene usage perturbation in the population
Dr. Ariel RosenfeldLidia Izakson*Major Depressive Disorder Prognosis Prediction: Data, Clinical Insights and Application
Prof. Shay Ben-AroyaProf. Erez LevanonDeciphering and Harnessing A-To-I RNA Editing Architecture for Correction of Autism-Causing Mutations
Prof. Amir LeshemProf. David SarneCollaborative multi-agent Learning in communication limited environments and applications
Dr. Adam ZaidelExplaining brain heterogeneity of perceptual inference through personality traits and network properties

 

Congrats to the winners and we are looking forward to learning about their progress in upcoming DSI dinner events. 

קול קורא למחקר: רטורנו

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https://dsi.biu.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/קול-קורא-אפריל-22.pdf

קול קורא למחקר

המרכז הטיפולי אוניברסיטאי בר אילן רטורנו

פותח את שעריו למחקרים חדשניים ופורצי דרך מתחומים שונים.

רגע, מי אתם?

רטורנו היא קהילה טיפולית יהודית לטיפול ולמניעה של התמכרויות, הנמצאת בעמק האלה.

הקהילה כוללת את היחידות הבאות:

יחידת מניעה – אליה מגיעים מבקרים מבתי ספר, צוותים מקצועיים חיילים ועוד (כ-20,000 בשנה)

קהילה טיפולית – בה שוהים גברים הנגמלים מהתמכרויות לסמים, לאלכוהול ולהימורים (כ-40 בכל זמן נתון) ונשים (כ-8 בזמן נתון), לפרק זמן טיפולי של 8 חודשים.

קהילת נוער – (כ-35 נערים ו-6 נערות) המהווה מסגרת פנימייתית לנוער העושה שימוש בחומרים פסיכואקטיבים וכוללת טיפול בן 18 חודש ולימודים בבית ספר הנמצא במקום.

מחלקה אשפוזית לצעירות (גילאי 14-30) הנמצאות במצב אקוטי, הכוללת גמילה בת שלושה חודשים ולימוד בבית ספר טיפולי מלווה.

מסגרת אמבולטורית – הכוללת טיפול יום למכורים לסמים, לאלכוהול, להימורים למין ולאוכל, ויחידה לטיפול בבני משפחה של מכורים במסגרת זו מטופלים כ-20 גברים ו-30 נשים.

כמו כן לרטורנו חווה טיפולית המשלבת טיפול באמצעות סוסים וכן פינת חי לטיפול באמצעות בעלי חיים.

בנוסף, לפני כשנתיים, ייסדה רטורנו את מרכז האימפקט האוניברסיטאי – שיתוף-פעולה בינה לבין אוניברסיטת בר אילן, לשם לימוד מהידע הקיים בשטח, ויישום שיטות טיפול חדשניות ואינטרדיסציפלינריות שהוכחו מחקרית אך לצערנו, טרם הוטמעו בשטח.

מה אנחנו מחפשים?

מחקרים פורצי דרך חדשניים (בעדיפות לאינטרדיסציפלינריים – המשלבים אנשי אקדמיה מתחומי-דעת שונים ואנשי אקדמיה עם אנשי הצוות הטיפולי ברטורנו). חוקרים מתחומי הפסיכולוגיה, הסוציולוגיה, החינוך, הטיפול, הקרימינולוגיה, המחשבים, היהדות, המשפט, הכלכלה, המגדר או כל תחום רלוונטי אחר, המוצאים עניין בחקר תחום ההתמכרויות, מוזמנים, בחום רב, להציע נושאים למחקרים אצלנו ולשיתופי-פעולה עימנו.

אוקי אני בעניין, מה עכשיו?

יש לכם רעיון למחקר? כתבו לנו מספר שורות על הרציונל והשיטה ואנו נצוות אתכם לאדם המתאים ביחידות השונות ברטורנו, על-מנת לבחון את רלוונטיות המחקר ויכולת יישומו. בשלב הבא, תתבקשו להגיש הצעת מחקר שתעבור אישור מטעם ועדות המחקר והאתיקה האוניברסיטאיות ובמידת הצורך – של המשרד הרלוונטי (משרד הרווחה או הבריאות).

מה עוד?

בשלב זה לא נוכל לתת לכם תקציב למחקר

אך נוכל לספק שדה מחקר גדול ואוכלוסיות מחקר מרתקות וייחודיות שמוכנים ומעוניינים במחקר!

אנו ממוקמים בפינה נפלאה בעמק האלה. מוזמנים לבוא לבקר,

או לשאול כל מה שצריך במייל את הרכזת שלנו אילה אלבאז ayala@retorno.org

Python Code Development for a Study in the Department of Psychology

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The Dynamic Processes of Psychopathology and Psychotherapy Lab (https://dplab-biu.wixsite.com/dplab) is looking for a software programmer for a short-term project (Start date: immediate). The lab is housed in the Department of Psychology at Bar Ilan University and directed by Dr. Yogev Kivity (https://psychology.biu.ac.il/en/node/1684).

We are looking for a developer that could write a Python code that will automate the transcription of audio files using Google Transcribe. The code will send audio files from a Google Drive folder for transcription using Google Speech-to-Text services (part of Google Cloud Platform – GCP) and then save the outputted transcription in another Google Drive folder.

Information regarding GCP can be found here:

https://cloud.google.com/speech-to-text
https://cloud.google.com/speech-to-text/docs/sync-recognize#speech-sync-recognize-gcs-python

The project is especially suitable for advanced Computer Science or Engineering students. Students will be paid on an hourly basis at a pre-agreed rate. For inquiries and application please contact Dr. Yogev Kivity (yogev.kivity@biu.ac.il) and include your CV and a short description of relevant experience.

Seeking a Part-time Research Assistant for a project on motion capture of sign languages

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We are looking for a part-time Research Assistant for an exciting project involving the analysis of sign languages through motion capture. Interested students should enquire only if they have Computer Science/programming background and an interest in Computer Vision. Please email Dr. Rose Stamp: rose.stamp@biu.ac.il

Post-doc position at BIU LawData Lab

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The BIU LawData Lab at Bar Ilan-University Faculty of Law is now accepting applications for a post-doctoral fellowship, starting October 2021. 
The BIU LawData Lab (BIU Innovation Lab for Law, Data-Science and Digital Ethics at Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law) is seeking candidates for a post-doctoral fellowship.

Eligibility:

  • PhD/JSD graduates or candidates who are at the final year of their doctoral program.
  • Candidates should have academic degrees in law or a related field (e.g., public policy, regulation). Additional degrees or training in computer science or data science are an advantage.
  • Candidates should be highly proficient in both Hebrew and English.
  • Candidates should have a background in at least one of the Lab’s areas of work: law and technology, law and data science, law and artificial intelligence, ethics and technology, data governance, data-driven research of the law. Experience in employing data-science methodologies (e.g., NLP and other text as data approaches, network analysis, etc.) is an advantage.

Fellowship Terms:

  • Duration: October 2021- September 2022.
  • Funding: A fellowship of 8,000 NIS per month.
  • Responsibilities: the fellow will manage the day-to-day operation of the lab. The fellow will take part in the lab’s research projects and activities (including conferences and seminars) and will be responsible for the lab’s administration. In addition, the fellow will guide a team of students in their preparation for a writing competition on law and technology held by the Ministry of Justice. In addition, the fellow is encouraged to lead independent research on topics related to the Lab’s work
    and to collaborate with affiliated faculty members.

How to apply:

  • Please send a CV (including a list of publications), 2-3 recommendation letters, and a short statement of interest and research agenda to dikan.law@biu.ac.il. Relevant candidates will be invited
    for an interview.
  • Deadline for submitting Applications: August 1, 2021.

 

Full details here – Post-doc position at BIU LawData Lab-29.6final