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Masashi OKAMOTO, Ph.D.

Ritsumeikan University

Professor

[mail]



On Education




  • Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
    • Ph.D., Human and Environmental Studies, March 2003
      • Thesis: A Cognitive Analysis of Ironic Utterances: Toward an unified model of utterance comprehension and communication
    • M.E., Human and Environmental Studies, March 1996
      • Thesis: An Analysis of the Comprehending and Interpreting Processes of Ironic Utterances based on the Hierachical Model of Utterance Interpretation
  • Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
    • B.A., Political Science, March 1994




On Research and Work Experience




  • College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan (2012-)
    • Professor (2017-)
    • Associate professor (2012-2017)
  • Research Institute for Language Education, Seisen University, Tokyo, Japan (2011-2012)
    • Visiting researcher
  • Department of Computer and Information Science, Seikei University, Tokyo, Japan (2010-2011)
    • Senior researcher
  • Media Technology Center, Katayanagi Advanced Research Laboratories, Tokyo University of Technology, Tokyo, Japan (2006-2010)
    • Visiting associate professor
  • Department of Japanese Language and Literature, School of Literature, Senshu University, Tokyo, Japan (2008-2012)
    • Part-time lecturer in teaching Cognitive Linguistics & Developmental Linguistics.
  • Department of Japanese Language & Literature, Faculty of Arts, Seisen University, Tokyo, Japan (2005-2012)
    • Part-time lecturer in teaching Cognitive Linguistics.
  • Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (2002-2006)
    • Postdoctoral fellow engaged in the group of "Intelligent Media Technology for Supporting Natural Communication between People". Design and develop a natural human-computer communication environment.
  • Center for Japanese Language, Osaka University of Foreign Studies, Osaka, Japan (1999-2002)
    • Part-time lecturer in teaching Japanese as a foreign language.
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan (1996-1999)
    • Postdoctoral fellow in Intelligent Informatics. Studied in the analysis of cognitive structure of irony and other rhetorical expressions.




On Research Interests




My research area covers the communication and the reality of humans in general. I have been working on Cognitive Linguistics, Pragmatics and Communication Studies. In particular, the following questions have been my main concerns:
  • How can people communicate with each other using language?
  • How does people segementalise and (re)cognize the external world?
  • How can people live in the world with a sustainable sense of reality?

My current research focuses on human-computer interaction and human-robot communication from the cognitive point of view, including the user involvement of computer users, the communicative functions of multi-modal information, and the organization of discourse with coherent intention.





On Selected Publications (in English)



As for Journal Articles



[1] Yong Xu,Yoshiyasu Ogasawara,Takashi Tajima, Makoto Hatakeyama, Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano, and Toyoaki Nishida: A Two-layered Approach to Communicative Artifacts, Journal of AI & Society, ISSN 0951-5666 (Print), 1435-5655 (Online), DOI: 10.1007/s00146-007-0131-4, Springer London (2007.6). [link]

[2] Yukiko I. Nakano, Toshihiro Murayama, Masashi Okamoto, Daisuke Kawahara, Qing Li, Sadao Kurohashi, and Toyoaki Nishida: Cards-to-presentation on the web: Generating multimedia contents featuring agent animations. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, Vol. 29, pp.83-104 (2006).

[3] Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano, Kazunori Okamoto, Ken'ichi Matsumura and Toyoaki Nishida: Producing Effective Shot Transitions in CG contents Based on a Cognitive Model of User Involvement, in Special Section of Life-like Agent and its Communication, IEICE Transactions of Information and Systems, Vol.E88-D, No.11, pp.2523-2532 (2005.11). [PDF]




As for Book Chapters




[1] Takeo Tsukamoto, Yumi Muroya, Masashi Okamoto, & Yukiko Nakano: Collection and Analysis of Multimodal Interaction in Direction-Giving Dialogues: Towards an Automatic Gesture Selection Mechanism for Metaverse Avatars, In Beer, M., Brom, C., Dignum, F., Soo, V.-W. (Eds.) Agents for Educational Games and Simulations: International Workshop, AEGS 2011, Taipei, Taiwan, May 2, 2011. Revised Papers, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol.7471, pp.94-105, Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer (2012.7.)

[2] Mika Enomoto, Masashi Okamoto, Masato Ohba, and Hitoshi Iida. (2009). Laughter around the End of Storytelling in Multi-Party Interaction, in H. Hattori, et al. (Eds.) Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence 5447, New Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence: JSAI 2008 Conference and Workshops, Asahikawa, Japan, June 11-13, 2008, Revised Selected Papers, pp.275-287. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. (2009.4).

[3] Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano, and Toyoaki Nishida: Toward Enhancing User Involvement via Empathy Channel in Human-Computer Interface Design, In L. Bolc et al. (Eds.): Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol.3490, Intelligent Media Technology for Communicative Intelligence: Second International Workshop, IMTCI 2004, Warsaw, Poland, September 13-14, 2004. Revised Selected Papers, Springer-Verlag GmbH, pp.111-121 (2005.9). [PDF]

[4] Yukiko I. Nakano, Masashi Okamoto, and Toyoaki Nishida: Generating CG Movies Based on a Cognitive Model of Shot Transition Enriching Agent Animations with Gestures and Highlighting Effects, In L. Bolc et al. (Eds.): Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol.3490, Intelligent Media Technology for Communicative Intelligence: Second International Workshop, IMTCI 2004, Warsaw, Poland, September 13-14, 2004. Revised Selected Papers, Springer-Verlag GmbH, pp.91-102 (2005.9).

[5] Kazunori Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano, Masashi Okamoto, Hung-Hsuan Huang and Toyoaki Nishida: Generating CG Movies Based on a Cognitive Model of Shot Transition, In R. Khosla et al. (Eds.) Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol.3683, Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems: 9th International Conference, KES 2005, Melbourne, Australia, September 14-16, 2005, Proceedings, PartIII, Springer-Verlag GmbH, pp.848-854 (2005.9).

[6] Yoshiyasu Ogasawara, Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano, Yong Xu, and Toyoaki Nishida: How to Make Robot a Robust and Interactive Communicator, In R. Khosla et al. (Eds.) Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol.3683, Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems: 9th International Conference, KES 2005, Melbourne, Australia, September 14-16, 2005, Proceedings, PartIII, Springer-Verlag GmbH, pp.289-300 (2005.9).





As for International Conference Papers




[1] Masashi Okamoto: Fictive interaction in prose text: An experiment on prose-to-dialogue conversion, In the 15th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference (ICLC-15), Nishinomiya, Japan (2019.8.)

[2] Sachi Kato and Masashi Okamoto: Narrative recognition models: Accounting for narrative similarity for individual readers, In 16th International Pragmatics Conference (IPrA2019), Hong Kong, China (2019.6.)

[3] Sachi Yasuda, Masashi Okamoto, and Eiji Aramaki: Ad hoc Creature: Lost and Added in Translation from Description to Depiction, In the 34th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2012), Sapporo, Japan (2012.8.)

[4] Sachi Yasuda, Masashi Okamoto, and Eiji Aramaki: Mind the Gap between Text and Real World: A Corpus-based Study on the Prototype Effects of Animal Body Parts, In 4th UK Cognitive Linguistics Conference (UK-CLC4), King's College London, London, UK (2012.7.)

[5] Takeo Tsukamoto, Yumi Muroya, Masashi Okamoto, and Yukiko Nakano: Collection and Analysis of Multimodal Interaction in Direction Giving Dialogues: Towards an Automatic Gesture Selection Mechanism for Metaverse Avatars, In Workshop on the Uses of Agents for Education, Games and Simulations, AAMAS 2011, Taipei, Taiwan (2011.5.)

[6] Masashi Okamoto: Triple aspects of subjectivity in understanding figurative utterances: cognitive pragmatics view, In Language, Communication and Cognition: International Conference: August 4th-7th 2008, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK (2008.8)

[7] Mika Enomoto, Masashi Okamoto, Masato Ohba, and Hitoshi Iida: Laughter around the End of Storytelling in Multi-Party Interaction, In Proceedings of LIBM'08: First International Workshop on Laughter in Interaction and Body Movement, pp.20-27, June 10, 2008, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan (2008.6).

[8] Masato Ohba, Masashi Okamoto, Mika Enomoto, and Hitoshi Iida: Tittering and Laughing: a Case of Manzai Audience, In Proceedings of LIBM'08: First International Workshop on Laughter in Interaction and Body Movement, pp.34-39, June 10, 2008, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan (2008.6).

[9] Masashi Okamoto: Pragmatic Subjectivity in Metaphors and Similes, In 10th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference, July 15th-20th, 2007 SPECIAL THEME: Cognitive Linguistics in Action: From Theory to Application and Back, Book of Abstracts - genral sessions, p.190, AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland, (2007.7). [slide]

[10] Masashi Okamoto: Irony as Cognitive Deviation, In 9th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference: Language, Mind and Brain, pp.317-318, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, (2005.7). [slide]

[11] Masashi Okamoto, Kazunori Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano and Toyoaki Nishida: Supporting the Creation of Immersive CG Contents with Enhanced User Involvement, In Proceedings of the Symposium on Conversational Informatics for Supporting Social Intelligence and Interaction - Situational and Environmental Information Enforcing Involvement in Conversation, AISB'05: Social Intelligence and Interaction in Animals, Robots and Agents, pp.87-96, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK, (2005.4). [PDF]

[12] Yoshiyasu Ogasawara, Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano and Toyoaki Nishida: Establishing Natural Communication Environment between a Human and a Listener Robot, In Proceedings of the Symposium on Conversational Informatics for Supporting Social Intelligence and Interaction - Situational and Environmental Information Enforcing Involvement in Conversation, AISB'05: Social Intelligence and Interaction in Animals, Robots and Agents, pp.42-51, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK, (2005.4). [PDF]

[13] Masashi Okamoto, Yoshiyasu Ogasawara, Yukiko I. Nakano and Toyoaki Nishida: Enhancing User Involvement via Joint Attention with a Listener Robot, In Proceedings of Social Intelligence Design 2005 (SID 2005), Stanford, CA, USA, (2005.3). [PDF]

[14] Yong Xu, Yoshiyasu Ogasawara, Takashi Tajima, Makoto Hatakeyama, Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano, Toyoaki Nishida: A Two-layered Approach to Communicative Artifacts, In Proceedings of Social Intelligence Design 2005 (SID 2005), Stanford, CA, USA, (2005.3).

[15] Masashi Okamoto, Yukiko I. Nakano and Toyoaki Nishida: Toward Enhancing User Involvement via Empathy Channel in Human-Computer Interface Design, In Proceedings of International Workshop on Intelligent Media Technology for Communicative Intelligence (IMTCI 2004), pp.129-132, Warsaw, Poland, (2004.9). [PDF]

[16] Burin Anuchitkittikul, Masashi Okamoto, Sadao Kurohashi, Toyoaki Nishida, and Yoichi Sato: Video Content Manipulation by Means of Content Annotation and Nonsymbolic Gestural Interfaces, In Proceedings of Eighth International Conference on Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems (KES2004), pp.385-392, Wellington, New Zealand (2004.9).

[17] Tomohide Shibata, Masato Tachiki, Daisuke Kawahara, Masashi Okamoto, Sadao Kurohashi, and Toyoaki Nishida: Structural Analysis of Instruction Utterances using Linguistic and Visual Information, In Proceedings of Eighth International Conference on Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems (KES2004), pp.393-400, Wellington, New Zealand (2004.9). [PDF]

[18] Yukiko I. Nakano, Masashi Okamoto, and Toyoaki Nishida: Enriching Agent Animations with Gestures and Highlighting Effects, In Proceedings of International Workshop on Intelligent Media Technology for Communicative Intelligence (IMTCI 2004), pp.112-115, Warsaw, Poland, (2004.9).

[19] Nobuhiro Kaji, Masashi Okamoto and Sadao Kurohashi: Paraphrasing Predicates from Written Language to Spoken Language Using the Web, In Proceedings of The Human Language Technology Conference (HLT-NAACL04), pp.241-248, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, (2004.5). [PDF]

[20] Yukiko I. Nakano, Masashi Okamoto, Daisuke Kawahara, Qing Li, Toyoaki Nishida: Converting Text into Agent Animations: Assigning Gestures to Text, In Proceedings of The Human Language Technology Conference (HLT-NAACL04) (short paper). (2004.5).

[21] Burin Anuchitkittikul, Masashi Okamoto, Hidekazu Kubota and Toyoaki Nishida: Gestural Interface for the Creation of Personalized Video-Based Content, Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Information Technology for Application (ICITA 2004), China, 2004.

[22] Q. Li, Y. Nakano, M. Okamoto, and T.Nishida: Highlighting Multimodal Synchronization for Embodied Conversational Agents, Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Information Technology for Application (ICITA 2004), China, 2004.

[23] Tomohide Shibata, Daisuke Kawahara, Masashi Okamoto, Sadao Kurohashi, and Toyoaki Nishida: Structural Analysis of Instruction Utterances, In Proceedings of Seventh International Conference on Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems (KES 2003), pp.1054-1061, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (2003.9). [PDF]

[24] Masashi Okamoto: Understanding irony as communicative reality, Working Notes WS-5 International Workshop on Intelligent Media Technology for Communicative Reality, PRICAI-02 (Seventh Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence), pp.61-64, (2002.8).