Conceptual graph-based knowledge representation for supporting reasoning in African traditional medicine

Although African patients use both conventional or modern and traditional healthcare simultaneously, it has been proven that 80% of people rely on African traditional medicine (ATM). ATM includes medical activities stemming from practices, customs and traditions which were integral to the distinctive African cultures. It is based mainly on the oral transfer of knowledge, with the risk of losing critical knowledge. Moreover, practices differ according to the regions and the availability of medicinal plants. Therefore, it is necessary to compile tacit, disseminated and complex knowledge from various Tradi-Practitioners (TP) in order to determine interesting patterns for treating a given disease. Knowledge engineering methods for traditional medicine are useful to model suitably complex information needs, formalize knowledge of domain experts and highlight the effective practices for their integration to conventional medicine. The work described in this paper presents an approach which addresses two issues. First it aims at proposing a formal representation model of ATM knowledge and practices to facilitate their sharing and reusing. Then, it aims at providing a visual reasoning mechanism for selecting best available procedures and medicinal plants to treat diseases. The approach is based on the use of the Delphi method for capturing knowledge from various experts which necessitate reaching a consensus. Conceptual graph formalism is used to model ATM knowledge with visual reasoning capabilities and processes. The nested conceptual graphs are used to visually express the semantic meaning of Computational Tree Logic (CTL) constructs that are useful for formal specification of temporal properties of ATM domain knowledge. Our approach presents the advantage of mitigating knowledge loss with conceptual development assistance to improve the quality of ATM care (medical diagnosis and therapeutics), but also patient safety (drug monitoring)

Identifying Agile Requirements Engineering Patterns in Industry

Agile Software Development (ASD) is gaining in popularity in today´s business world. Industry is adopting agile methodologies both to accelerate value delivery and to enhance the ability to deal with changing requirements. However, ASD has a great impact on how Requirements Engineering (RE) is carried out in agile environments. The integration of Human-Centered Design (HCD) plays an important role due to the focus on user and stakeholder involvement. To this end, we aim to introduce agile RE patterns as main objective of this paper. On the one hand, we will describe our pattern mining process based on empirical research in literature and industry. On the other hand, we will discuss our results and provide two examples of agile RE patterns. In sum, the pattern mining process identifies 41 agile RE patterns. The accumulated knowledge will be shared by means of a web application.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2013-46928-C3-3-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2016-76956-C3-2-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2015-71938-RED

Multi-agent knowledge integration mechanism using particle swarm optimization

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2011 Elsevier B.V.Unstructured group decision-making is burdened with several central difficulties: unifying the knowledge of multiple experts in an unbiased manner and computational inefficiencies. In addition, a proper means of storing such unified knowledge for later use has not yet been established. Storage difficulties stem from of the integration of the logic underlying multiple experts' decision-making processes and the structured quantification of the impact of each opinion on the final product. To address these difficulties, this paper proposes a novel approach called the multiple agent-based knowledge integration mechanism (MAKIM), in which a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is used as a knowledge representation and storage vehicle. In this approach, we use particle swarm optimization (PSO) to adjust causal relationships and causality coefficients from the perspective of global optimization. Once an optimized FCM is constructed an agent based model (ABM) is applied to the inference of the FCM to solve real world problem. The final aggregate knowledge is stored in FCM form and is used to produce proper inference results for other target problems. To test the validity of our approach, we applied MAKIM to a real-world group decision-making problem, an IT project risk assessment, and found MAKIM to be statistically robust.Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Korea

European consensus of criteria for the evaluation of good practices in chronic conditions

Los sistemas sanitarios reconocen las enfermedades crónicas como uno de sus grandes desafíos de salud del siglo XXI para los sistemas sanitarios. A pesar de ser en gran medida prevenibles, las enfermedades crónicas son importante causa de mortalidad y morbilidad en Europa. En 2015, más de 1,2 millones de personas en los países de la UE murieron por enfermedades y lesiones que podrían haberse evitado a través de políticas de salud pública más fuertes o de una atención médica más efectiva y menos fragmentada. La presente tesis doctoral reporta el desarrollo y resultados de una proceso de consenso internacional cuyo objetivo ha sido desarrollar criterios de evaluación para valorar el potencial de las prácticas clínicas e intervenciones y políticas sanitarias a la hora de disminuir la carga atribuible a las enfermedades crónicas en cuatro áreas de interés: Promoción de la salud y prevención primaria de condiciones crónicas; Intervenciones organizativas enfocadas al tratamiento de pacientes crónicos con condiciones clínicas múltiples; Intervenciones sobre el empoderamiento del paciente; e, Intervenciones y políticas orientadas a mejorar la diabetes (la diabetes se utiliza como condición paradigmática). Con objeto de acordar los criterios de evaluación y otorgarles relevancia distinta en función del dominio de interés, se desarrolló un consenso internacional mediante la técnica Delphi-modificada, en la que participaron 113 expertos de diferentes disciplinas procedentes de 23 países europeos. El proceso de consenso produjo 145 categoría de evaluación (28 categorías en el Delphi de Health promotion and primary prevention of chronic conditions, 50 en el de Organizational interventions aimed at dealing with complex chronic patients with multiple conditions, 28 en el de Patient empowerment interventions with chronic conditions y 39 categorías en el Delphi de diabetes as a case-study) orientadas a valorar cada uno de los citados dominios y ponderarlos en función de cada área de interés. El conjunto de criterios y categorías acordados para el caso paradigmático de Diabetes apoya la hipótesis de que los criterios de valoración son transferibles y aplicables a la evaluación de prácticas, intervenciones y políticas desarrolladas sobre otras condiciones crónicas. Consistentemente con lo observado en otras iniciativas europeas, en este consenso, los criterios relacionados con ‘diseño de la práctica’, ‘evaluación’, ‘sostenibilidad’ y ‘escalabilidad’ parecen ser componentes esenciales en el desarrollo e implementación de buenas prácticas en Europa. Por último, como virtualidad destacable de este proceso de consenso, el componente internacional de las decisiones consensuadas, apoya la posibilidad de que las prácticas evaluadas con los criterios y categorías acordados puedan ser transferidas a cualquier contexto europeo.<br /

Assessing Destination Competitiveness: An Application to the Hot Springs Tourism Sector

This paper proposes a model to identify the factors determining the competitiveness of the hot springs tourism sector, with particular application to Taiwan. The proposed conceptual framework brings together two approaches, namely the theories of industry organization (10) and the resource-based view (RBV). The proposition underlying this framework is that destination competitiveness is achieved by the adoption of policies and strategies aligned with market opportunities, drawing upon the unique or distinctive tourism features offered by the destination. It is proposed that three major influences are evident in the case of hot springs tourism, namely Tourism Destination Resources and Attractors, Tourism Destination Strategies and Tourism Destination Environments. An evaluation is provided of the administration of a three-round Delphi survey, which was intended to validate the determinants of destination competitiveness that were derived from the literature. Drawing upon the results of the pilot study it is concluded that the development of a sector-specific model of destination competitiveness is capable of capturing the nature and characteristics of the hot springs tourism sector

BI Systems Managers’ Perception of Critical Contextual Success Factors: A Delphi Study

The present article investigates critical contextual success factors (CCSFs) that influence business intelligence (BI) system success in terms of their relevance and controllability. The initial set of CCSFs is based on an analysis of existing literature and serves as the basis for further exploration of these factors. Advances to previous studies are the validation of possible CCSFs influencing BI system design by domain experts in a Delphi Study and the multi-dimensional view of these factors. A carefully selected expert panel investigated CCSFs not only with regard to the dimensions of relevance – which is typical for ranking-type Delphi studies – they also assessed each factor in the dimension of controllability. This two-dimensional approach allowed us to identify five distinct clusters of CCSFs that influence BI system success. This paper contributes to information systems (IS) research on critical success factors in general and provides the BI domain with specific insights. The results contribute to the BI success factor literature and can potentially be generalized to other IS. BI managers may use the results to assess their daily challenges in BI system development and maintenance projects

Rehabilitation definition for research purposes. A global stakeholders’ initiative by Cochrane Rehabilitation

Negrini S, Selb M, Kiekens C, et al. Rehabilitation definition for research purposes. A global stakeholders initiative by Cochrane Rehabilitation. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine . 2022.Since its foundation, Cochrane Rehabilitation has faced challenges with rehabilitation definitions because existing definitions did not indicate what rehabilitation includes and what it excludes. We aimed to develop a comprehensive and shared rehabilitation definition for research purposes to: 1) support the conduct of primary studies and systematic reviews, and 2) identify relevant systematic reviews for knowledge translation purposes. We performed a multimodal study including seven preliminary research and discussion papers, four Consensus Meetings and three Delphi rounds with 80 rehabilitation stakeholders. The Delphi Study aimed to obtain agreement, refine and complete the items composing the definition and meanings of rehabilitation. These stakeholders covered 5 continents, representing 11 global and continental rehabilitation organizations, 11 scientific journals, 4 Cochrane Networks and 3 Cochrane Groups, and included invited experts, and representatives of low middle-income countries (LMICs) and consumers. We had a 70% to 82.5% response rate to the three Delphi rounds, during which participants responded to all items (100%) and provided relevant comments (range 5.5-50% per item). This participation led to several refinements to the rehabilitation definition through three preliminary versions, and the final items reached an agreement between 88.9% and 100%. We structured the definition using the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) framework. We concluded that "In a health care context," rehabilitation is defined as a "multimodal, person-centered, collaborative process" (Intervention-general), including interventions targeting a person's "capacity (by addressing body structures, functions, and activities/participation) and/or contextual factors related to performance" (Intervention-specific) with the goal of "optimizing" the "functioning" (Outcome) of "persons with health conditions currently experiencing disability or likely to experience disability, or persons with disability" (Population). Rehabilitation requires that all the items of the definition are satisfied. We defined a "rehabilitation intervention" as "any intervention provided within the rehabilitation process." We developed a rehabilitation definition for research purposes achieving a broad agreement with global stakeholders. This definition provides explicit criteria to define rehabilitation. Using the proposed definition will improve rehabilitation research by standardizing the description of interventions. Our definition may require revision in the future, as further research enhances understanding and communication of the essence and complexity of rehabilitation

Information Sharing in Multi-Tier Supply Chains - Moving Beyond the Dyads

As international competition increased towards the end of last century, companies realized the importance of collaborating and sharing information with suppliers and customers to remain competitive. By sharing information such as forecasts of future demand with partners in the supply chain, it was possible to lower inventory holding costs and increase the service level to customers, and thereby increase the competitiveness of the involved companies. Previous research has proposed several benefits related to information sharing in supply chains. Suggested benefits include, for instance, better planning and scheduling of production lines, improved allocation and utilization of resources for transportation and warehousing, and reduced inventory levels and tied-up capital. However, it appears that few companies have been able to implement and benefit from information sharing. Several researchers conclude that information sharing in the supply chain is limited. Particularly, it seems as if companies have not been able to benefit from sharing information across multiple tiers in the supply chain. The lack of information sharing across multiple tiers is a challenge which is important to address considering that companies continue to struggle with problems related to the, so called, bullwhip effect. A supply chain which suffers from the bullwhip effect can experience distorted demand information as it is shared upstream in the chain. Such variations in demand information can lead to incorrect production planning and thereby alternately high inventory levels and increased costs for overtime and rush orders. Against this background, several questions arise: For what reasons do companies refrain from sharing information across multiple tiers despite the fact that literature suggest that it is beneficial? Further, are there any companies that have implemented information sharing across multiple tiers and, if so, what are the documented benefits? Searching the answers to these questions reveals a gap in literature in that the majority of previous research studies have focused on dyadic relationship (i.e. supplier-buyer) instead of multi-tier supply chains (e.g. supplier-manufacturer-customer). The purpose with this dissertation is therefore to move beyond the dyads and explore information sharing in the supply chain, and investigate opportunities and challenges involved with sharing information across multiple tiers. The purpose is addressed in three separate but connected studies. Following a pilot study, a systematic literature review is conducted to establish current knowledge in the research area. Thereafter, two empirical studies are conducted: a case study which maps an entire supply chain where data is collected from multiple tiers; and a Delphi study including a panel of experts who share their insights through multiple questionnaires. The findings indicate that companies, for different reasons, refrain from sharing information across multiple supply chain tiers. One reason is the many challenges involved with implementing information sharing across multiple supply chain tiers. The major challenges include lack of trust between companies; lack of information quality; difficulties to share risks and benefits; lack of business processes; and the lack of a dominant player who can initiate change in the supply chain. Many companies are also preoccupied with internal issues and lack the ability to engage in information sharing across the supply chain. Another reason, from the perspective of contingency theory, seems to be that information sharing across multiple tiers is only beneficial in few, particular contexts. Such contexts relate to planned changes in the supply chain, for example in relation to new product introductions when future demand is uncertain. Findings also suggest a negative inter-relation between important and feasible contexts. In other words, in cases where it is possible to implement information sharing it is perceived to be less valuable and in cases where it is more valuable it is more difficult to implement. The findings further suggest that companies focus their information sharing with supply chain partners that represent high intensity of interdependence. Interdependence theory can thus help to explain why companies mostly share information with dyadic, strategic partners where the partners represent a large percentage of each other’s portfolio and turnover. Moving beyond the dyads, the intensity of interdependence is reduced as firms are embedded in many networks and often have multiple suppliers and customers. The willingness to engage in multi-tier information sharing is therefore reduced. This dissertation, which is one of the first to study information sharing in the extended supply chain, indicates that information sharing across multiple tiers is a rare phenomenon in industry. The dissertation also points out that several aspects must be considered to be able to implement and benefit from information sharing across multiple tiers. One of the contributions of the dissertation is a conceptual framework which can be used to guide future research and also function as decision support for companies to address and implement multi-tier information sharing