Abstract: [Object] To provide a system for automatically and reliably collecting information belonging to a given category, and matching the information appropriately in a timely manner. [Solution] A text classifying device 30 analyzes dependency of collected texts by a morpheme analyzing unit 52 and a dependency analyzing unit 54. A problem report collecting unit 64 specifies a core consisting of noun+predicate in a text based on dependency relation of the text, and using a combination of noun classification (trouble/non-trouble) and predicate classification (excitatory/inhibitory), classifies the text to a problem report or the rest, by a method referred to as core-based matrix. Support information collecting device 66 and request message collecting device 68 collect support information and request messages in the similar manner.

Abstract: A credibility determining system enabling highly accurate credibility determination of given information includes causal relation knowledge DB 90 and search scope constraint DB 88. Causal relation knowledge each includes a combination of cause and result parts, and time and position constraints associated with the causal relation.

Abstract: A question-answering system capable of appropriately answering a non-factoid question. The question-answering system responsive to a question, for taking out answer candidates from an object document storage unit; extracting plausible ones from the answer candidates; recognizing causal relation expression included in extracted answer candidates; determining whether or not a recognized causal relation is relevant as an answer; generating a feature vector related to a combination of the question and the searched answer candidate; and for calculating, when a feature vector is given, a score indicating a degree of how correct an answer candidate is as an answer to the question, for the question and the answer candidate as a source of the feature vector, and for outputting, as the answer to the question, an answer candidate having the highest score.

Abstract: An annotation data generation assisting system includes: an input/output device receiving an input through an interactive process; morphological analysis system 380 and dependency parsing system performing morphological and dependency parsing on text data in text archive; first to fourth candidate generating units detecting a zero anaphor or a referring expression in the dependency relation of a predicate in a sequence of morphemes, identifying a position as an object of annotation and estimating candidates of expressions to be inserted by using language knowledge; a candidate DB storing estimated candidates; and an interactive annotation device reading candidates of annotation from candidate DB and annotate a candidate selected by an interactive process by input/output device.

Abstract: annotation data generation assisting system includes: an input/output device receiving an input through an interactive process; morphological analysis system and dependency parsing system performing morphological and dependency parsing on text data in text archive; first to fourth candidate generating units detecting a zero anaphor or a referring expression in the dependency relation of a predicate in a sequence of morphemes, identifying a position as an object of annotation and estimating candidates of expressions to be inserted by using language knowledge; a candidate DB storing estimated candidates; and an interactive annotation device reading candidates of annotation from candidate DB and annotate a candidate selected by an interactive process by input/output device.

Abstract: A credibility determining system enabling highly accurate credibility determination of given information includes causal relation knowledge DB 90 and search scope constraint DB 88. Causal relation knowledge each includes a combination of cause and result parts, and time and position constraints associated with the causal relation.

Abstract: [Object] An object is to provide a device capable of efficiently collecting contradictory expressions in units smaller than a sentence.

Abstract: [Object] To provide a question-answering system capable of appropriately answering to a non-factoid question.

Abstract: [Object] To provide a system for automatically and reliably collecting information belonging to a given category, and matching the information appropriately in a timely manner. [Solution] A text classifying device 30 analyzes dependency of collected texts by a morpheme analyzing unit 52 and a dependency analyzing unit 54. A problem report collecting unit 64 specifies a core consisting of noun+predicate in a text based on dependency relation of the text, and using a combination of noun classification (trouble/non-trouble) and predicate classification (excitatory/inhibitory), classifies the text to a problem report or the rest, by a method referred to as core-based matrix. Support information collecting device 66 and request message collecting device 68 collect support information and request messages in the similar manner.

Abstract: An information retrieval service system 40 includes: a storage device 64 for storing a question corpus; a clustering unit 100 clustering the questions and determining a prototype of each cluster; an auctioning unit 104 executing auctions for the prototypes; an updating unit 112 associating each of the questions with a winning bidder of the prototype sentence of the cluster to which the question belongs; a question-URL correspondence DB 68 storing, for each of the questions, a URL designated by the winning bidder; a question-searching unit 132 receiving a search request and searching for a question having the shortest distance to the search request; and URL searching units 134, 136 and a query issuing unit 138, transmitting the query generated from the search request to the URL corresponding to the searched out question and transmitting resulting information to an information service using terminal 48.