This SpringerBrief addresses the challenges of analyzing multi-relational and noisy data by proposing several Statistical Relational Learning (SRL) methods. These methods combine the expressiveness of first-order logic and the ability of probability theory to handle uncertainty. It provides an overview of the methods and the key assumptions that allow for adaptation to different models and real world applications.The models are highly attractive due to their compactness and comprehensibility but learning their structure is computationally intensive. To combat this problem, the authors review the use of functional gradients for boosting the structure and the parameters of statistical relational models. The algorithms have been applied successfully in several SRL settings and have been adapted to several real problems from Information extraction in text to medical problems. Including both context and well-tested applications, Boosting Statistical Relational Learning from Benchmarks to Data-Driven Medicine is designed for researchers and professionals in machine learning and data mining. Computer engineers or students interested in statistics, data management, or health informatics will also find this brief a valuable resource.

This SpringerBrief addresses the challenges of analyzing multi-relational and noisy data by proposing several Statistical Relational Learning (SRL) methods. These methods combine the expressiveness of first-order logic and the ability of probability theory to handle uncertainty. It provides an overview of the methods and the key assumptions that allow for adaptation to different models and real world applications.The models are highly attractive due to their compactness and comprehensibility but learning their structure is computationally intensive. To combat this problem, the authors review the use of functional gradients for boosting the structure and the parameters of statistical relational models. The algorithms have been applied successfully in several SRL settings and have been adapted to several real problems from Information extraction in text to medical problems. Including both context and well-tested applications, Boosting Statistical Relational Learning from Benchmarks to Data-Driven Medicine is designed for researchers and professionals in machine learning and data mining. Computer engineers or students interested in statistics, data management, or health informatics will also find this brief a valuable resource.

ILP 2007, the 17th Conference on Inductive Logic Programming, was held in Corvallis, Oregon, USA, June 19-21, and was collocated with the 24th Inter- tional Conferenceon Machine Learning.The programconsisted of 15 full and 14 short presentations, a poster session, keynote talks by Paolo Frasconi (Learning withKernelsandLogicalRepresentations)andDavidJensen(BeyondPrediction: Directions for Probabilistic and Relational Learning), and several joint sessions with ICML. Thirty-eight submissions were received this year, out of which ?fteen were accepted for publication in the proceedings as full papers and eleven as short papers.Inclusionin the proceedings was decided bytaking into accountnotonly the relevance and quality of the work described, but also the quality and level of maturityofthetext.Severalmoresubmissionswereacceptedaswork-in-progress presentations. Thus the 2007 edition of ILP continued the tradition of adopting high selectivity for published papers, while at the same time o?ering a forum for work in progress. All accepted papers were made available in temporary online proceedings during the conference.Revised versions of the submitted papers, incorporating feedback from discussions at the conference, are included either in the proce- ings of the conference (this volume) or, for a small number of selected papers, in a special issue of theMachine Learning journal (abstracts of these are included in this volume). Papers reporting on work in progress remain available in the online proceedings, athttp://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~shavlik/ilp07wip/.

This SpringerBrief addresses the challenges of analyzing multi-relational and noisy data by proposing several Statistical Relational Learning (SRL) methods. These methods combine the expressiveness of first-order logic and the ability of probability theory to handle uncertainty. It provides an overview of the methods and the key assumptions that allow for adaptation to different models and real world applications.The models are highly attractive due to their compactness and comprehensibility but learning their structure is computationally intensive. To combat this problem, the authors review the use of functional gradients for boosting the structure and the parameters of statistical relational models. The algorithms have been applied successfully in several SRL settings and have been adapted to several real problems from Information extraction in text to medical problems. Including both context and well-tested applications, Boosting Statistical Relational Learning from Benchmarks to Data-Driven Medicine is designed for researchers and professionals in machine learning and data mining. Computer engineers or students interested in statistics, data management, or health informatics will also find this brief a valuable resource.

This SpringerBrief addresses the challenges of analyzing multi-relational and noisy data by proposing several Statistical Relational Learning (SRL) methods. These methods combine the expressiveness of first-order logic and the ability of probability theory to handle uncertainty. It provides an overview of the methods and the key assumptions that allow for adaptation to different models and real world applications.The models are highly attractive due to their compactness and comprehensibility but learning their structure is computationally intensive. To combat this problem, the authors review the use of functional gradients for boosting the structure and the parameters of statistical relational models. The algorithms have been applied successfully in several SRL settings and have been adapted to several real problems from Information extraction in text to medical problems. Including both context and well-tested applications, Boosting Statistical Relational Learning from Benchmarks to Data-Driven Medicine is designed for researchers and professionals in machine learning and data mining. Computer engineers or students interested in statistics, data management, or health informatics will also find this brief a valuable resource.

ILP 2007, the 17th Conference on Inductive Logic Programming, was held in Corvallis, Oregon, USA, June 19-21, and was collocated with the 24th Inter- tional Conferenceon Machine Learning.The programconsisted of 15 full and 14 short presentations, a poster session, keynote talks by Paolo Frasconi (Learning withKernelsandLogicalRepresentations)andDavidJensen(BeyondPrediction: Directions for Probabilistic and Relational Learning), and several joint sessions with ICML. Thirty-eight submissions were received this year, out of which ?fteen were accepted for publication in the proceedings as full papers and eleven as short papers.Inclusionin the proceedings was decided bytaking into accountnotonly the relevance and quality of the work described, but also the quality and level of maturityofthetext.Severalmoresubmissionswereacceptedaswork-in-progress presentations. Thus the 2007 edition of ILP continued the tradition of adopting high selectivity for published papers, while at the same time o?ering a forum for work in progress. All accepted papers were made available in temporary online proceedings during the conference.Revised versions of the submitted papers, incorporating feedback from discussions at the conference, are included either in the proce- ings of the conference (this volume) or, for a small number of selected papers, in a special issue of theMachine Learning journal (abstracts of these are included in this volume). Papers reporting on work in progress remain available in the online proceedings, athttp://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~shavlik/ilp07wip/.